Polish priest offers to serve seven years in jail over child sex charges

POLAND
Reuters

(Reuters) – A Catholic priest on trial for sexually abusing children in Poland and the Dominican Republic offered on Friday to serve a seven-year jail term, a court spokeswoman said.

The priest was suspended by his religious order in the rural Dominican parish of Juncalito last year after local residents accused him of molesting altar boys, according to the church.

He was arrested after returning to his native Poland and is on trial on 10 charges relating to child sex abuse and possessing pornographic images of children. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail.

“The priest filed for voluntary submission to a seven-year penalty,” said court spokeswoman Joanna Adamowicz. “The prosecutors will give their opinion on the motion on March 25.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.