The priest was convicted: for possession of child pornography – 5 thousand. a EUR fine

According to the BNS court, on Thursday, the priest DM was convicted by the Rokiškis Palace for possession of pornographic content and material of the same content representing children.

The court, summarizing the sentences, imposed 7.5 thousand. The fine of 150 million euros (150 MGL) was reduced, but reduced by a third because the convicted person, according to the court, confessed to the crime, accepted the charges and regretted it, and the case was examined under an expedited examination of evidence under an expedited procedure.

The court also decided to confiscate the instrument of the crime – a laptop and issued a written commitment not to leave until the sentence comes into force – which can be appealed to the Panevėžys Regional Court within 20 days. DM must pay the fine within ten months.

The Penal Code establishes a fine or imprisonment of up to four years for the possession of pornographic content that represents a child or a person presented as a child.

The Panevėžys Regional Prosecutor’s Office, which referred the case to the court in early October, reported that it had established that a priest from the diocese of Šiauliai shared with other people through the social media application Messenger. Among the recipients with whom he shared pornography was a parish priest belonging to the Diocese of Panevėžys.

During the pre-trial investigation, many pornographic videos and photos were found on the computer of the cleric from the Aukštaitija region. After reviewing them, experts from the Office of the Inspector of Journalistic Ethics found that at least 53 electronic files contained pornographic videos and photographs depicting children under 18 or depicting people as children.

Among these records on the priest’s computer were 31 photos, which are included in Interpol’s database of child sexual exploitation.

Officers from the Criminal Police Serious Crimes Investigation Board of the Panevėžys County Police Chief Commissariat conducted the pre-trial investigation separately, and were led by the Prosecutor of the First Prosecution Division of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office by Panevėžys Ričardas Juozainis when we have the information.

The Diocese of Panevėžys removed the cleric from office and promised to investigate the crime after the court decision. The decision to impose a sentence on a priest must be made by the Congregation for the Faith.