Father Luis Miguel Costa was sentenced this Monday by the Viseu court to 1 year and 11 months of imprisonment, suspended. He is prohibited from performing the duties of a priest for 10 years and will have to pay 10 thousand euros in compensation to a minor under 14 years old.
The sentence is suspended for three years with probation, and the priest is required to attend a program for child and youth sex offenders and undergo a psychological or psychiatric evaluation.
The former priest of São João de Louros was convicted of wanting to have sexual relations with a minor during a lunch meeting that took place in the parish’s wine cellar, near the city of Viseu, at the end of March 2021.
During the meeting, Father Luis, 48, made inappropriate comments and attempted to forcefully kiss the minor. He then sent him sexually explicit messages, behavior which the court found “reprehensible”.
The court found that the minor’s testimony, corroborated by his father, as well as messages sent by the priest (he was 45 years old at the time) to the minor’s cell phone were “more than sufficient” for a conviction.
In his opinion, the crime of sexual coercion was only an attempt, since the young man managed to resist the “indecent advances” of the priest.
The young man was “embarrassed and scared” and in the following days he felt “disgusted, nervous and anxious” and even stopped accompanying his father to some meetings. Because of the situation he experienced, the young man’s trust was shaken not only in the priest, but also in other men, he believed.
According to the court, the young man became “more withdrawn” and “began to feel sad,” requiring periodic consultations with a psychologist.
There was no doubt about the “sexualization of the messages” sent by the priest, and the justifications he gave were considered “absurd, unsupported” and not credible.
“It is impossible for this to happen the way I said,” emphasized the chairman of the panel of judges.
In sentencing, the court took into account the defendant’s personality, which it described as a “disrespectful behavior” towards the facts and a “difficulty understanding the consequences” of his actions.
The trial of Father Luis Miguel Costa began in October 2023 and has always taken place behind closed doors, with the exception of this Monday, the day the Viseu court decision was announced.
Author: Thiago Virgilio Pereira This Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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