Hoy newspaper reports today from Higuey that an angry mob confronted Deacon Rigoberto de Jesus Gonzalez Padial, after a judge deferred the trial of those accused of molesting children at the Ciudad de los Ninos San Francisco Javier orphanage until 10 January 2005.
Judge Rafael Cedano ordered five former employees of the institution (Ventura Perez de la Cruz, Felipa Jose, Yoanny Alvarez, Geniese Noncent, and Maria Cristina Guerrero) and two of their spouses to jail and denied their petition to have the alleged victims newly interrogated. The judge also advised the deacon and the deputy director of the home, Alejandro del Rosario, to consult the diocese of Higuey so that their sworn statements may be given in accordance with the Concordat signed between the Church and the state in 1954.
The first-floor courtroom was packed with people, who were ejected from the building before the hearing began. The only witnesses allowed to remain were members of the families of the accused and the press. Of those who were disallowed from viewing the proceedings, many remained in the vicinity of the building, demanding justice and the arrest of Deacon Gonzalez Padial, the institution’s founder and director. Most of the angry crowd were residents of San Rafael de Yuma, the southeastern town where the children’s home is located.
When the court proceedings were concluded, the deacon was escorted to his vehicle by police agents and the military to protect against the swarm of people who called out to the cleric with jeers and taunts. Hoy reports that approximately five people were arrested at the scene in connection with the disturbance.
A defense lawyer for the accused, Luis Fernando Espinoso, asked the court to verify claims made by the minors that the orphanage pool was used to hold satanic rituals involving human remains. He, too, requested that the accusers be questioned again in order to ensure that their statements had not been unduly manipulated or coerced. Espinosa, along with fellow defense counsel Mota Alvarez, said they would petition the court to have Gonzalez Padial and del Rosario charged with negligence, alleging that any such untoward activity at the Ciudad de los Ninos orphanage could not have occurred without their awareness.