A La Vega court sentenced Catholic priest Miguel Bienvenido Florenzán Ulloa to serve 10 years in jail and pay an indemnity of RD$15 million. The court also ruled that the Colegio Angustiano, the leading private school in La Vega, pay an indemnity of RD$5 million to the victim. The court also ordered the priest pay RD$100,000 to the Dominican government.
The court found Florenzán Ulloa guilty of sexual abuse to the student at the Colegio Angustiano. Florenzán was the director of the Catholic school. The victim, Víctor Mañón Arias, today is 20 years old but suffered the abuse when he was a minor enrolled at the school. News reports covering the crime explained how the priest took advantage of the child who had just lost his father.
The court judges Lucrecia Rodríguez Ramírez, Luz Enilda Herrera and Juana Patricia Silverio announced their decision on Monday, 25 November 2019. The full ruling will be read on 16 December 2019. The jail sentence would be served at the Centro Correccional el Pinito.
After moving to the United States, Mañón Arias would receive counseling that helped him rise to deal with his pain and accuse the priest of sexual, physical and psychological abuse. He presented the case in 2015. His lawyers had sought 20 years in jail and indemnity of RD$50 million.
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El Caribe
26 November 2019