Rome, Italy, Nov 28, 2011 / 12:18 pm
Leaders of the Salesian Congregation in Rome condemned the sentencing of a Mexican Salesian priest to 33 years in prison for allegedly raping and killing a 16 year-old girl.
Salesian leaders say Father Jose Carlos Contreras Rodriguez was accused of “crimes he did not commit” after he was sentenced by Judge Juana Maria Castillo in San Luis Potosi on Nov. 22.
Fr. Contreras was charged with killing 16-year-old Itzachel Shantal in October of 2007 after a security guard testified two years later that she saw Shantal at the front door of the Salesian house in San Luis de Potosi on the day of her murder.
Lawyers for the priest argue that there was no evidence for his conviction, which was based solely on the testimony of the security guard. The College of Catholic Lawyers in Mexico has agreed to assist in appealing the verdict.