A Costa Rican court on Wednesday sentenced a former priest to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing a minor, more than two years after he was arrested in Mexico for a crime committed almost two decades ago.
The judge sentenced Mauricio Vikes, who previously held high-ranking positions in her hierarchy. Roman Catholic Church in the diocese of the capital San Jose, guilty of abusing a boy who did things for him in exchange for meals for his family.
“My wife and my two children supported me. Today I feel completely free. “The ghost that haunted me since I was 12 years old has disappeared,” said the victim, 30 years old today, whose details were not made public at trial.
Mr. Vikes, who was disbanded in 2019, when the charges against him came to light, had been charged with other cases of abuse before 2003. He was charged only in this case, as the older offenses were now statute-barred.
The ombudsman’s defense attorney argued after the sentence was handed down that his client did not know the victim, adding that he would appeal.
The Archbishop of San Jose, Jose Kiros, is also facing prosecution for allegedly covering up the actions of Mauricio Vicque for a number of years.
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