BERLIN (AP) — A Catholic diocese in Germany said Tuesday that a former priest has been convicted in a church trial of sexually abusing a minor over several years almost three decades ago.
The man, who wasn’t identified, was ordered to pay an unspecified fine for the crimes committed between 1986 and 1993, the diocese of Limburg said in statement. It didn’t immediately respond to queries about the amount of the fine.
While financial payouts have been included in confidential settlements between the church and victims of abuse, the announcement of a financial penalty against a priest as a result of a canonical investigation is unusual.
The male victim had filed a complaint about the abuse in 2018 following the publication of a study into sexual abuse within the church.
German prosecutors declined to open an investigation because the alleged crimes had passed the 20-year statute of limitations, but church authorities launched a probe.
After receiving a dossier from the diocese, the Vatican asked it to open criminal proceedings.
The diocese said that the church now considers the man to be a convicted sex offender. It said the man would have been defrocked as part of his conviction, but he left the priesthood during the trial.