Another Priest Sentenced For Sex Abuse Monsignor Edgardo Storni, former archbishop of the city of Santa Fe, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for sexual abuse, [a sentence] that took into account his standing as priest. Judge María Amalia Mascheroni thus puts closure on the only unresolved criminal charge weighing on the former prelate. Página 12 December 30, 2009  [Translated into English by BishopAccountability.org. Click below to see original article in Spanish.] http://www.bishop-accountability.org/Argentina/news/2009_12_30_Pa_gina_12_Another_Priest.pdf   The case began with the accusation by former seminary student Rubén Descalzo, in connection with an incident that occurred in 1992, but that he didn’t denounce until 10 years later.   Storni's lawyer, Eduardo Jauchen, has appealed the prosecution; the case will now go to the Court of Criminal Appeals.   News of the Storni case broke in 2000 [sic - 2002?] following the publication of [Descalzo’s] denunciation in the book “Our Holy Mother,” by reporter Olga Wornat, who presented the book at the Santa Fe Book Fair.   In September 2002, the then-Archbishop of Santa Fe [Storni] submitted his resignation and sent a letter to then-Pope John Paul II in which he disavowed any “faults” or “accusations.”   Three months later, Storni declared in court and denied the charges.  Monsignor José María Arancedo became his replacement [at the Archdiocese of Santa Fe].   The former archbishop then took refuge at La Falda, a farm in the province of Córdoba owned by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, where he applied for, and received, retirement benefits.   In February 2003, [now deceased] investigating magistrate Eduardo Giovanini prosecuted him for alleged sexual abuse against a seminary student.  In his ruling, the judge dismissed two other complaints against the religious leader because the time that had elapsed exceeded the prescribed time period for legal proceedings in the case.   Eventually, investigating magistrate Darío Sánchez sent the dossier to prosecuting judge Alejandro Echarte, in which the charge of sexual abuse was brought against Edgardo Gabriel Storni.   In his declaration, former seminary student Rubén Descalzo stated that [Storni] “invited him to his apartment, where there was only a single light on.  We talked a lot and he convinced me that it was time to go.  When we got to the door, he hugged me.  The hug was prolonged; he pressed me closer to his body.  He placed his face on my neck and kissed me.”   The case had much back and forth.  During the appeals and challenges, the dossier passed through various offices until ending up [in the hands of] Judge Mascheroni.   Storni’s defense lawyer, Eduardo Jauchen, said that “the court sentenced him to eight years in prison, the minimum sentence, for sexual abuse ‘exacerbated by’ the actor’s position as priest-guardian.” “This sentence fails to satisfy the constitutional requirements of what ought to be a resolution befitting a definitive decision with the degree of certainty required to convict a citizen in a court of law,” he said.   "Not only must the judge be convinced that a crime occurred, but such certainty must spring forth from the existing evidence in a court of law.  Throughout these proceedings, there’s been a total lack of supporting evidence and documentation to even arrive at a state of probability [to judge] the authorship of the charge attributed to Storni,” he added.   “Suspicion, rumors, or one-sided versions of events cannot and do not convict a person.  Our democratic and republican system tries to avoid this type of arbitrary act.  We can live in a democracy and republic, or continue to live in chaos and disorder, and convict a person based on comments,” he emphasized.   Finally, Jauchen said that “presently, Storni is, or is about to turn, 74 years old.  These proceedings are more than seven years in the making.  So, in the worst of instances, he’d have to comply with house arrest due to his age and state of health,” adding that “this is the only charge that the former archbishop wasn’t acquitted of.  Logically, I’ve already appealed the ruling.”

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