Prison chaplain Don Alberto Barin
was sentenced to four years imprisonment by a Milan preliminary
hearing judge Friday for sex crimes including harassment,
fondling and forced intercourse with eight inmates in a Milan
area prison.
On Friday, Judge Luigi Garigulo issued the four-year
sentence, significantly less than prosecution's request for 14
years and 8 months.
Garigulo also did not recognize plaintiffs' request for
provisional compensation as immediately enforceable.
Following an in-depth prison investigation organized by
Italy's Deputy Prosecutor Pietro Forno, prison police and a
rapid-response team, Barin was arrested and jailed on November
20, 2012, when investigations revealed that Barin used his power
and position to obtain sex.
Barin's defense lawyer Mario Zanchetti insisted on
clarifying that the sexual acts were between adults and were
consensual.
At present, the former chaplain is under house arrest at a
convent.
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