They reopened the case of a Spanish priest who abused hundreds of indigenous girls

The Bolivian prosecutor’s office reported on Monday the resumption of the investigation against the Spanish priest Luis Roma PedrosaIs known I fight Rome, Who Over a hundred indigenous girls were abused for decades and died in 2019 at age 84. New tests are now available They want to hold accountable those who covered up their crimes.

Attorney General Juan Lanchipa Ponce explained, “The investigation will focus on the crime of concealment against those who knew about the sexual abuses committed against minors and did not report them to the relevant authorities.” He stressed that “the main perpetrator of these abuses died in 2019.”

Lanchipa reported that the case, known as ‘Father Rome’The case was filed with the Santa Cruz departmental prosecutor’s office due to a lack of sufficient evidence to prepare charges. However, new evidence and witnesses have allowed the investigation to be resumed, he said.

In addition, Lanchipa urged the authorities to create a special unit to prevent these cases, stressing that “children should not take risks with these people.” He also called on the society to report similar incidents that have occurred in the past.

The announcement to reopen the investigation came a day after the newspaper ‘El Pais’ will publish the priest’s personal diarywhere he detailed the abuses he committed while a missionary in Charagua, in the southeast of the country, between 1994 and 2005. The diary also contains rOma also mentioned taking photographs and making videos of his victims.. The Jesuits conducted an internal investigation that confirmed the crimes, but authorities were not informed.

Following the publication, the Society of Jesus in Bolivia declared that it would not protect anyone responsible for these abuses and promised to collaborate with justice. They said, “The victims are our priority,” showing their willingness to cooperate in the ‘Padre Roma’ case and other relevant cases.

“The current authorities have a moral obligation not to repeat the mistakes of the past, which must be strongly condemned. For this reason, we have cooperated with the investigations and submitted complaints with full transparency, with all available documentation, to establish the truth of the facts,” reads a statement from the Jesuits.

Finally, he acknowledged with regret that those who should have responded to complaints of sexual abuse of minors acted negligently and indolently. He concluded, “Those who acted in this way must take responsibility for their actions as prescribed by law.”