A priest, a doorman and a tutor will begin to be tried this Monday, in San Nicolás, accused of having sexually abusedin 2017, to five kids between 3 and 4 years old in the Belén kindergarten, in the Buenos Aires town of San Pedro, where the priest worked as legal representative.
It’s about the priest Tulio Matiussi, 48 years old; the exporter Anselmo Ojeda (60) -the only one who continues to be detained under house arrest- and the preceptor Maria Lujan Rubies (53), who come to trial for “simple sexual abuse aggravated by the quality of its authors”, for being in charge of the care of the affected minors and, in the first case, for being a minister of worship.
The oral debate will be in charge of the Criminal Oral Court (TOC) No. 2 of San Nicolás de los Arroyos, which presides Maria Elena Baquedanoand the hearings will take place on May 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, starting at nine in the morning.
About 60 witnesses will testify in the hearings, which will take place in the courts of San Nicolás, located at Calle Guardias Nacionales 47, in that city in the north of Buenos Aires.
“We are convinced that the three defendants are guilty, because our children do not lie and because in the case there is plenty of evidence that incriminates them,” the parents of the children and the educational community assured in a statement, before the start of the trial.
In addition, they indicated that the case “touched the interests of the Bishopric of San Nicolás, especially Bishop Hugo Santiago, and the rector of the Hugo Prieto Sanctuary”, whom they described as “Matiussi’s protectors” for having “requested his freedom” and house him in a diocesan headquarters to serve his parole.
“They took charge of his defense fees,” they pointed out.
The investigation ended last June, when the head of the UFIJ 8 of Baradero, Hernán Granda, requested that it be brought to trial for considering it proven that “during the 2017 school year” the accused subjected children to abuse during class hours, a crime that they committed both “collectively” and “individually”, with or without the presence of other children as witnesses.
“As a result of these practices by the accused signs of child sexual abuse were verified in all minors“said the prosecutor.
However, Granda ended up asking that the three be tried for the slightest of crimes against sexual integrity -simple abuse- and not for rape -“sexual abuse with carnal access”-, which was the initial qualification of the fact.
After spending five months in detention, the priest has been awaiting trial in freedom since May 2019.
