Italian court jails Catholic priest for child sex abuse

By Baris Seckin

ROME (AA) - A court in Italy has sentenced Catholic priest Giuseppe Rugolo to four and a half years in prison for sexual violence against minors, local media reported.

Legal proceedings were initiated following a complaint lodged by Antonio Messina, now 30 years old, who accused Rugolo of subjecting him to violence between 2009 and 2013, according to the ANSA news agency.

After careful deliberation, the court in the town of Enna on the Sicily island found Rugolo guilty of sexual abuse of children.

Rugolo has also been permanently banned from teaching in school and from holding public offices for five years.

In 2020, Messina wrote a letter to Pope Francis, reporting the abuse and demanding justice, and subsequently reported it to law enforcement.

Rugolo was first arrested in 2021 following the allegations against him and was later placed under house arrest.