Araras Justice in the interior of Sao Paulo has sentenced former priest Pedro Leandro Ricardo to 21 years in a closed regime for the violent indecent assault against two people.

The verdict was published in the Diário de Justiça last Friday (20), reporting that the cleric was acquitted in two more complaints of the same crime. Denying the charges, Ricardo will be able to freely appeal the decision. Last March, Pope Francis fired the priest from the state over allegations of sexual misconduct.

The investigation began in 2019 following complaints from four former altar boys from São Francisco de Assis Parish in Araras, where he worked between 2003 and 2006, according to the Diocese of Limeira. At that time, Ricardo had been suspended from his duties at Americana.

According to the lawsuit, the harassment took place between 2002 and 2005. The court found the ex-priest guilty in two cases involving the youth. Regarding the other two charges, he was acquitted as his behavior at the time was not classified as violent assault.

“The victims were not an accidental outcome. Rather, they were carefully selected by the accused, aware of his power of veneration, on the assumption that they were priests and, in the absence of a structured home of this nature, in the absence of a structured home. In the judgment of Judge Rafael Pavan de Moraes Filgueira, “the role of father figure was meant to satisfy his lust. took advantage of it,” he said.