Having left for Togo for several months, a former priest from the diocese of Belfort refutes accusations of sexual assault against him. He was sentenced by French justice this Tuesday, January 7.
A 46-year-old priest was sentenced by the Belfort criminal court, this Tuesday, January 7, to one year of imprisonment for the sexual assault of a parishioner in July 2023.
An arrest warrant was also issued against the cleric of Togolese nationality, who was absent from his trial for “sexual assault by a person abusing the authority conferred on him by his functions”, after his departure for Togo.
“Inappropriate gestures”
The complainant, a woman “in search of meaning” who had recently turned to the Church after a “burn-out”, reported having been sexually assaulted at the priest's home in a Belfort presbytery, on July 4, 2023. The man, drunk after a reception organized after a mass, then forced her to touch her despite her explicit refusals, she testified during the trial.
The priest categorically contested these accusations during the investigation.
Absent during the hearing, he announced through his lawyer Stéphanie Quenot that he had left France in August 2024 to attend mourning ceremonies in Togo after the death of his mother, who died two years ago. earlier. A servant of the Church confirmed the victim's version by telling investigators that the religious had confided to him that he had made “inappropriate gestures” towards her.
The faithful, who according to the priest had not been invited to his home, was able to precisely describe the places, including the bedroom. Her counsel, Leandro Giagnolini, stressed that his client “is not seeking revenge, she is seeking reparation, but above all hopes that justice contributes to preventing such behavior, particularly within the Church.” He also recalled that drinking alcohol and inviting a faithful woman to one's home were practices prohibited within the Church.
The public prosecutor, for his part, considered that “the guilt was beyond doubt”, emphasizing the seriousness of the facts.
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The defendant was included in the file of perpetrators of sexual offenses (Fijais) and the court accompanied his conviction with a definitive ban on staying on French territory and exercising any function as a priest in France. The Church announced that it had suspended him from his functions.
