The decision on the preliminary hearing of the case involving the former priest was published on the website of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office of Porto.
The court found sufficient evidence suggesting the defendant, after being expelled as a priest from the Catholic Church, continued to present and dress himself as a priest and exorcist belonging to the Catholic Church from the mid-1979 until December 24, 2021. This behavior, which included national television appearances, was part of his activities.
“Indeed, within the scope of his activity as an exorcist priest, the defendant received clients who believed he was a priest, from whom he received financial compensation,” it was further noted.
The court also found sufficient evidence indicating the defendant, within his activities as an exorcist, counseling, and spiritual guide, received two women in December 2021 at his home office in the municipality of Murça, district of Vila Real, who believed the defendant was a Catholic priest.
In one of these consultations, the court stated that the former priest allegedly exploited a woman’s psychological vulnerability to engage in sexual acts with the victim, which reportedly occurred after inducing a state of semi-consciousness in her, thereby removing her ability to react.
In the same month, the defendant reportedly forced another victim to “endure non-consensual contact on her body.”
The former priest was arrested on December 24, 2021, by the Judiciary Police for the crime of raping a 47-year-old woman. After being brought to court, he was placed in pre-trial detention and released in April 2022.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office filed charges in September 2023, but the priest requested the initiation of instruction, an optional phase aimed at deciding, by a criminal investigation judge, whether and how the process proceeds to trial.
The preliminary decision was made public today, and the former priest will be tried by a collective court for various offenses, including aggravated fraud, the continued practice of usurping functions, rape, and sexual coercion.
