Chaplain guilty of sexually abusing inmates

(ANSA) - Milan, March 28 - 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.