Father Grassi’s 15-Year Sentence Is Confirmed Verdict made by the Criminal Court of Buenos Aires after dismissing all recourses presented by the defense; will hold the priest responsible for two counts of sexual abuse. Clarín September 14, 2010  [Translated into English by BishopAccountability.org. Click below to see original article in Spanish.] http://www.bishop-accountability.org/Argentina/news/2010_09_14_Clarin_Confirman_la_condena.pdf See original article. The Criminal Court of Buenos Aires confirmed this evening the 15-year prison sentence for Father Julio César Grassi, issued in 2009 by a Justice Court of Morón that found him guilty of two counts of sex abuse. According to the Judicial Information Center, the Court’s confirmation dismissed all of the recourses that had been “lodged” against the verdict. Grassi had been convicted in June of 2009 for two counts of sex abuse and first-degree corruption of minors.  However, the Court decided not to detain him. The trial lasted nine months and included the declarations of 130 witnesses. The judges substantiated the allegations made by “Gabriel” – sexual abuse and corruption of minors – but absolved the priest of 15 other charges brought by the plaintiff’s lawyers representing two other youth, "Ezequiel" and "Luis." The case went public in October, 2002, after a Telenoche Investiga report televised the declarations of two boys ("Gabriel" and "Ezequiel") who accused the priest of abusing them. The next day, Grassi was detained by the Police. A month later he was granted conditional release by a judge of Morón, but his case remained open. During the allegations, the public prosecutor, Alejandro Varela, had asked for 30 years of prison, while the denunciation led by Juan Pablo Gallego [the lawyer supporting the plaintiffs’ case] asked for 37 years. The priest’s defense, composed of Daniel Cabo and Martín Tipito, demanded that the priest be absolved.  In addition to the tough sentences that Gallego and Varela asked for, the priest’s detention was requested, although the judges dismissed this demand.

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