Nearly two years after the events, the Viennese court convicted the priest of La Côte Saint-André (Ain), now retired, to a four-month suspended prison sentence, reports Progress. The priest, 75 years old at the time of the facts, is also deprived of his right of eligibility for five years and has been registered in the file of sex offenders.
In May 2021, a friend of this man of the Church for 40 years had been invited with her husband to a meal at his home. During the evening, he had sexually assaulted this woman by repeatedly placing his hand on her chest. At the time, she was flabbergasted. Then, a feeling of betrayed trust developed. The man of faith had even baptized his last child. This woman ended up filing a complaint a few months after that evening.
The priest suffers from acute alcoholism
The priest had first denied before confessing during a second hearing. “A priest for 48 years, I have never failed,” he exclaimed. Several investigations carried out, also by the diocese, have concluded to an isolated fact, reports the local daily. They nevertheless revealed acute alcoholism in the defendant. During the hearing, this is what the public prosecutor pointed out, concluding that “his disinhibiting alcohol consumption” had “led to the facts”.
As a reminder, the consumption of alcohol by the victim or the aggressor constitutes an aggravating circumstance of sexual assault in the law.