Sosnowiec. Another priest detained for pedophilia

At the order of the Sosnowiec prosecutor's office, the police detained a 54-year-old priest from the Diocese of Sosnowiec on Tuesday, to whom investigators accuse two crimes to the detriment of children. It is, among others, a sexual offense even threatened with life imprisonment.

This is the fourth person detained as part of a large investigation conducted by the District Prosecutor's Office in Sosnowiec. Against one of them, the prosecutor's office in mid -April sent an indictment to the court. There are currently three suspects in the proceedings – two active priests and one former priest from the Diocese of Sosnowiec.

Curia initiated the proceedings against the former priest

A 54-year-old priest was detained by police officers from the Criminal Department of the Provincial Headquarters in Katowice. Before noon, activities with his participation began in the Sosnowiec prosecutor's office. He was a priest in one of the parishes in the Lesser Poland part of the Diocese of Sosnowiec. The offenses he were accused of was to take place last year. The proceedings against the clergy initiated the notification of the episcopal delegate for the protection of children and adolescents.

– It's about two deeds. One of them is strictly sexual. The second is associated with the first time and situational. In total, we have two victims, both are minors – said Bartosz Kilian from the District Prosecutor's Office in Sosnowiec.

As the prosecutor added, the first of the acts have been punishable by 5 years in prison even until life imprisonment. As he explained, the second crime accused of the priest concerns “physical influence on a minor against his will”, but this is not an act from the catalog of sex crimes.

The fourth priest in the investigation of pedophilia

A 54-year-old priest is the fourth person who heard allegations in a large investigation of pedophilia in Sosnowiec. At the behest of the prosecutor's office at the beginning of October 2024, three men were detained as part of the same proceedings. Two of them are active clergy of the Diocese of Sosnowiec. The third is a former priest, also from this diocese, but the charges against him concern the period when he was still a priest and are not related to pedophilia – he heard allegations regarding fraud.

Two active priests then heard a dozen or so allegations of sex crimes to the detriment of children. One of them, Jacek K., was arrested. Initially, the prosecutor's office accused him of two crimes, later supplemented the allegations with another two deeds regarding sex crimes to the detriment of children.

The second priests, Dariusz L., will be responsible for committing nine sexual offenses to the detriment of children. In mid -April this year. The prosecutor's office announced the indictment to the court against him. According to the findings of the investigation, the crimes were to reach in two schools, in which he taught Fr. L.

In January this year. The media reported that Fr. Dariusz L., despite the accusations and a ban on pastoral ministry, walked around the carol, visiting houses in one of the parishes in Jaworzno. At the news of this, the Bishop of Sosnowiec Artur important issued a criminal order and granted the priest a canonical admonition and reprimand. In the case of another fracture of the bodies, the clergy is threatened with suspense – the Curia said at that time, apologizing to all people concerned and affected by this matter.

The investigation in the District Prosecutor's Office in Sosnowiec was initiated in March 2023 on the basis of information obtained in the course of other proceedings. It is about the murder of a 26-year-old deacon at the Catholic House at ul. Kościelna in Sosnowiec. According to the prosecutor's office, he was taken by a 40-year-old priest, giving him six shots from a revolver and dealing with a knife. Then he committed suicide. Both clergy served in the cathedral basilica. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sosnowiec. The proceedings in this case were discontinued due to the death of the perpetrator.

In October 2024, the “Explanation and Repair” committee met in full composition for the first time. Its task is to examine events that have recently taken place in the diocese. This is the third team appointed by the important bishop. Earlier, the Commission for the Science and Development of the Diocese of Sosnowiec and the Team for Formation of the Clergy have already started its work.