A verdict has been issued in the case of Piotr M., former parish priest in Ruszów (Zgorzelec County). As reported by Radio Wrocław, the former clergyman was convicted of child sexual abuse by the court in Jelenia Góra. Sentence: four years in prison. The ruling is final.
Let us recall. In March last year, we reported that a verdict had been issued in the case of Piotr M., the priest from Ruszów, who was accused of molesting two intellectually disabled girls whom he was preparing for First Communion.
M. was then sentenced to a harsher penalty: five years in prison.
As zinfo.pl reported at the time:
During the trial, the priest was supported by his brother and sister, as well as women who came to the court in Zgorzelec with rosaries and prayed outside the courtroom. They also gathered today to support the clergyman. The faithful from the parish in Ruszów also appeared, along with Stanisława Kuzio-Podrucka, a representative of the Zgorzelec Women's Strike, who had supported the victims and the girls' mothers from the beginning.
The entire case began in March 2019. The trial started in autumn 2019. As TVN's “Fakty” reported at the time, the girls testified consistently that the priest would create situations in which he was alone with the children, then undress them, kiss them and touch them in intimate areas. Women who were already adults and who were allegedly molested in exactly this way by Father Piotr in the 1980s also testified against the parish priest. However, those acts were time-barred.