On Monday, the Walloon Brabant Criminal Court sentenced a 45-year-old man to forty months in prison.
The defendant, a priest responsible for training seminarians in Namur and Limelette from 2016 to 2020, was found guilty of raping one of the seminarians he supervised.
At the hearing, the defendant did not deny having had homosexual relations with the victim, but claimed that they were consensual.
The victim, however, stated that he had been coerced and had not dared to reveal the facts for fear of scandal.
It was during a trip to Paris that the victim, a seminarian of Polish origin, confided in a priest during confession.
The priest then revealed the facts during a meeting with the rector of the seminary. The suspect has since left the priesthood.
The incidents took place at night, when the other seminarians were asleep.
"When I arrived at the seminary, in an international atmosphere, there were few Europeans and I was trying to find my place. Mr D. was very present, very appreciated. He was kind and that made me feel good. It was a friendly relationship, I was happy to have a friend. We were kind to each other," the victim confided.
The first incidents took place without words: he told me to lie down on the bed and close my eyes, without telling me what he was going to do. I didn’t think it was possible: my world was falling apart, I didn’t understand anything anymore. It was so absurd in relation to the rules. I didn’t know what to do…", he added.
At the hearing, the public prosecutor considered the facts to be established and requested a one-year suspended prison sentence, while the defence pleaded for acquittal, claiming that the relations had been consensual.
