A priest of the diocese of Zaragozawho for years has served as a confessor and other duties inside the Pilar Basilica, has admitted to having coerced a man by sending sexual videos and erotic comments.
The events were reported by the victim to the National Police and gave rise to a judicial process. During the oral hearing, the priest apologized to the complainant and showed his willingness not to cause problems again.
For her part, the victim withdrew the accusation and the judge issued an acquittal for a crime of coercion. As published this Wednesday Herald of Aragon, the complaint detailed that the priest had been sending the victim messages “with high sexual content” on his mobile phone for almost a year. In addition to these messages, the complaint indicated that the religious had caused “tense situations, making encounters” with the complainant, “for no apparent reason, even inside the Basilica del Pilar, making erotic comments to him.”
In recent years, the accused has exercised his ministry in the Pilar cathedral as a confessor, officiating at baptisms and other activities related to his position, although he is no longer assigned to said Zaragoza temple. The complainant provided at trial, among other material, a pendrive with copies of the WhatsApp chat, as well as a video with “high sexual content”, supposedly sent through the accused’s phone. Furthermore, in the oral hearing he showed the need not to have to endure the harassment of the priest, who even had to suffer it in his area where he has to be daily, making the situation “unbearable” for him.
Likewise, he noted that he filed the complaint “with the purpose and hope that the conduct of this priest will not be tolerated by other people over whom he may have predominance due to his position.” He added that “minors and vulnerable adults” with whom the accused could interact due to his priesthood work, such as the preparation of communions, as well as catechism, excursions and similar activities, should be prevented from going through the same situation.