ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 14, 2022 / 15:05 pm
Spain’s Supreme Court has confirmed an appeal court’s sentence of 30 years in prison for a man convicted of sexually abusing minors and who was expelled from the clerical state by Pope Francis in 2019 for repeatedly refusing to serve the canonical sentence that had been imposed upon him.
The ex-priest was accused of sexually abusing seven minors who were studying at the minor seminary of the Diocese of Ciudad Real in Spain where he was a formator.
The high court dismissed the appeal filed by Pedro Jiménez Arias against the judgment of the Superior Court of Justice of Castilla La Mancha, which increased the sentence to 30 years from the 22 years and eight months that the Provincial Court of Ciudad Real had imposed.
The Supreme Court confirmed a fine amounting to more than $52,000 and compensation of about $2,000 to each of the seven victims.