The Civil Police of Minas Gerais concluded investigations against former priest Bernardino Batista dos Santos, 77 years old, suspected of committing sexual abuse against children aged between 3 and 11 years old.
According to investigations, the crimes occurred since the 1980s on a farm in the municipality of Tiros, in the Alto Paranaíba region. He was arrested on October 23. With the conclusion of the investigation, he was charged with rape of a vulnerable person.
According to the police, the last case occurred in 2016, when a victim, aged 4 at the time, was abused during a wedding party on a farm. The crime was reported to the police on August 9 of this year, beginning investigations against the elderly man.
Investigators found that he committed the crimes during excursions to a farm, where dozens of children linked to the Church participated in the activities.
THE CNN found that Bernardino had been removed from his activities in the Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte in 2021. The removal occurred precisely due to complaints against the then religious leader. At the time he was a priest at the Cristo Rei parish, in Contagem (MG), in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte.
The Archdiocese stated at the time of the removal, “the reasons for which the pastor can be legitimately removed from the parish are mainly the following”:
- “a way of proceeding that brings serious harm or disturbance to ecclesiastical communion”
- “loss of good esteem among honest and thoughtful parishioners, or aversion against the parish priest, which is not expected to cease soon”
According to the Civil Police, so far seven victims have been identified, but the suspicion is that there were around 50 children over all these years. The corporation advises that “anyone who has been a victim of the suspect contact the nearest police station to report the crime, making reference to the case”.
This content was originally published in Arrested in MG, ex-priest is indicted for sexual abuse against children on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
