(ITALY)
Crux [Denver CO]
August 5, 2024
By Elise Ann Allen
A well-known priest, who is also a former school director and former head of a federation of Catholic schools in northern Italy, was arrested last week on charges of sexually abusing an adolescent boy, and is being detained while an investigation continues into the alleged grooming of several others.
The priest, Father Andrea Melis, 60, was arrested Friday, Aug. 2, after being accused of sexually abusing a young boy for more than three years, beginning when the boy was just 12.
According to various Italian media reports, an order for Melis’s arrest stated that he would ask for things such as kisses, cuddles, and other sexual favors in exchange for electronic cigarettes, prepaid cards, name brand clothing, dinners out and videogames, among other gifts.
Melis is currently under house arrest in an undisclosed location. He is also being investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Genoa for child prostitution and aggravated violence.
Lawyers representing Melis so far have not indicated whether he disputes the charges, confining themselves to saying that the alleged offenses have nothing to do with the schools where he served, and that Melis was already suspended from his various assignments in accord with protocols of both the Archdiocese of Genoa and his religious community, the Piarist Fathers.
In a statement, the Archdiocese of Genoa expressed “sorrow” over the affair, and assured closeness to the victims and their families. It said that as soon as officials became aware of the allegations, they initiated canonical proceedings and informed the Vatican.
“The measures foreseen by canon law have been taken against [Melis] for some time, and we have collaborated with the police,” the archdiocese said.
A member of the diocesan curia in Genoa, Melis was formerly the president of Fidae Liguria, a federation of Catholic schools, as well as director of the Padre Assarotti elementary and preschool in Genoa. He had also served as pastor of the small parish of Saint Anthony of Padua.
According to reports in the Italian media, Melis is suspected of grooming at least seven young boys between the ages of 13-15. The order for his arrest was based on the testimony of three of them, whereas investigations are still underway for the other four.
Several of the boys, including the one who was sexually abused for three years, are former students at the Assarotti school, and allegedly would be showered with gifts by Melis, such as beers, energy drinks, cash, and designer clothing, in exchange for “caresses,” massages, and kisses, and promises not to tell their parents.
Melis apparently gained the respect of the boys through his status as a priest, while also promising them that he was their friend, and would allow them to do things “the adults” had forbidden.
Alarms reportedly were raised by the parents of the boy who was sexually abused, and who had previously been an altar server for Melis, after they sensed something was wrong.
A report on the Italian news site Corriere della Sera, Italy’s newspaper of record, states that according to documents from the investigation, the boy’s parents grew suspicious when their son would come home with designer clothing and was unable to explain where he’d gotten them.
The parents grew suspicious after they said Melis took an “obsessive” interest in their son when he was just 13, at one point asking to take the boy on vacation in Sardinia and buying him gifts that were increasingly expensive.
Over the course of their relationship, Melis took the boy out to dinner, gave him designer clothes, and paid him sums of money amounting to a total of almost $5,500 on a prepaid card registered with the boy’s name.
When the boy began high school, his parents tried to forbid him from seeing Melis. After discovering more unexplained gifts, his parents took his phone, where they discovered chats with Melis proving that his relationship with their son had never ended.
They had apparently met at least 10 times, almost always at the Assatorri school, where Melis had served as director and a music teacher.
One of the messages from Melis the parents reportedly found said, “We’ll see each other on Thursday evening and I’ll consume you with kisses…I can’t take it anymore.”
Another mother interviewed as part of the investigation, according to Corriere della Sera, said she also found worrying messages from Melis on her son’s phone, including an inappropriate comment about her son’s body.
Another message, sent in response to a photo of the boy wearing a designer sweatshirt Melis had apparently purchased for him, said, “What a cool guy…you’ll be a heartbreaker,” and in an audio message Melis had referred to receiving “some kisses.”
Melis was apparently able to convince the boys he groomed that it was right for them to want expensive things and to have money, apparently saying in one text message that, “Your parents should take responsibility for your real living and professional expenses.”
When some boys would say they could no longer see him, Melis reportedly wrote, “I’m sorry I can’t see you, I thought it was a sincere friendship, not just interested in sweatshirts and puffers…I love you.”
In response to one boy who wanted to bring friends along to the priest’s house, Melis apparently wrote, “I don’t insist, but I would like to be [alone] with you and…chat, cuddles…let me know and I’ll organize it”
The boy reportedly wrote back, “They know you’re a pedophile, they’ll come looking for you.”
While conducting a search of Melis’s apartment after his arrest, police reportedly found various sexual objects, drugs for sexual stimulation, clothing for boys, a supply of electronic cigarettes, and notes that confirmed his years-long relationship with the boy he allegedly abused.
Follow Elise Ann Allen on X: @eliseannallen