But criminal case against Fernando Karadima is closed due to statute of limitations.



In heaven there is no statute of limitations!

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Judge rules Chilean priest guilty of sex abuse

Written by Steve Shea

But criminal case against Fernando Karadima is closed due to statute of limitations.

Judge Jéssica González ruled Monday that disgraced Chilean priest Fernando Karadima did, in fact, abuse three of his former parishioners: James Hamilton, Fernando Batlle and Juan Carlos Cruz. González upheld her previous decision to close the case, however, saying the statute of limitations had run out.

Photo by peevee@ds/Flickr.

The judge ruled that Karadima used his status as a spiritual leader to prey on young boys in his parish between 1980 and 1995. The ruling also suggests that Karadima’s sexually abusive behavior could go as far back as 1962 and that current  Archbishop of Santiago Ricardo Ezzati knew about the abuse allegations as early as 2006. The victims told local press they were disappointed that the priest would not go to trial and had hoped Karadima would end up in jail.  the victims’ attorney, Juan Pablo Hermosilla, told La Tercera, “If action had been taken when the first reports of abuse occurred, the courts might have prevented other crimes, and Karadima could, perhaps, be in jail now.” Karadima was an influential priest in the El Bosque parish in Santiago, catering to some of Chile’s most affluent and politically important families during the 1980s and 1990s. The Vatican found Karadima guilty of sexually abusing minors in January. He was stripped of his priesthood and sentenced to a life of prayer and penance. Chile reopened the criminal case against Karadima in March 2010, after it was originally closed for lack of evidence. The proceedings involved new witnesses and evidence that came to light after the Vatican ruling. Judge González ruled in October that the latest criminal proceedings would not move forward, and Monday’s ruling focused, instead, on the merits of the accusations brought by the three vctims. Although Karadima avoided jail time for his crimes, the accusers viewed the ruling as mostly positive, saying their victory might  inspire other victims to come forward.  They were pleased, too, that the case increased general knowledge about  profile the crimes Karadima committed. “We wanted his crimes recognized,” Juan Carlos Cruz told La Tercera. “But the dismissal happened and we must live with that. From the beginning we wanted to establish that Karadima is a bully and an abuser.” “I am delighted that this (ruling) has finally proven what we have fought and suffered so much for,” Cruz said. Karadima made no public statement, but his defense lawyer, Luis Ortiz Quiroga, issued a statement saying, “Father Fernando Karadima respects the decision, as he has always done during this process. However, he has received the news with pain.” By Stephen Shea (editor@santiagotimes.cl) Read more at www.santiagotimes.cl

 

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