Historic Conviction: Bolivian Court Sentences Spanish Jesuit Priests for Concealing Abuse
Two elderly Spanish Jesuit priests in Bolivia were sentenced to a year in prison for covering up child sex abuse by a colleague. This marks Bolivia's first successful prosecution of high-ranking Jesuit members related to such cases. The case emerged from a diary revealing decades of abuse.
In a landmark decision on Tuesday, a Bolivian court sentenced two elderly Spanish Jesuit priests to one year each in prison for concealing decades-long child sex abuse by a fellow priest.
Marcos Recolons, 81, and Ramon Alaix, 83, were convicted, marking Bolivia's first successful prosecution against prominent Catholic Jesuit figures involved in covering up abuse cases. Prosecutors revealed that the priests led the Jesuit order during the abuse period and did not report their colleague Alfonso Pedrajas, allowing continued contact with children.
The case came to national attention in 2023 after a diary belonging to Pedrajas, who passed away in 2009, was published. It detailed abuse of at least 85 minors, predominantly indigenous students, from 1972 to 2000, igniting global outrage and renewed scrutiny over the Church's handling of abuse cases in Latin America.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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