Two priests guilty of sexually abusing deaf children at a school in Argentina
- Each were sentenced to more than 40 years in prison for abuse at a school for deaf and hearing-impaired children in northwestern Argentina
- The court also sentenced an 83-year-old gardener linked to the case to 18 years in prison
Two priests were found guilty on Monday of sexually abusing deaf children at a Catholic-run school in Argentina, a case that has shaken the church in Pope Francis’s homeland.
A three-judge panel in the city of Mendoza sentenced the Reverend Nicola Corradi to 42 years in prison and the Reverend Horacio Corbacho to 45 years, for abusing children at the Antonio Provolo Institute for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Children in Lujan de Cuyo, a municipality in northwestern Argentina.
Corradi, an 83-year-old Italian, and Corbacho, a 59-year-old Argentine, were arrested in 2016.
The court also sentenced gardener Armando Gómez to 18 years in prison. The victims are 10 former students.
The accused declined to make statements ahead of the judges’ ruling. They appeared sombre as they arrived in the courtroom, with Corradi in a wheelchair, his gaze fixed on the ground.