A priest has been jailed for three years for sexually abusing a teenage boy who was entrusted into his care.
Donald Bellizzi was convicted of sexually abusing the then 13-year-old boy, who used to attend a special group for those who were keen on becoming priests.
The offences began in 2010 when the boy began to attend meetings to find out if he had the vocation to become a priest and lasted until he was 16 years old.
Bellizzi, who is now almost 50 years old, had his three-year jail sentence confirmed on appeal by Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera who found him guilty of defiling the minor and participating in sexual activities with him.
The Appeals Court rubbished his argument that the sexual activities were consensual and that he had not forced himself onto him, saying this did not mean that they did not amount to defilement. Moreover, there was a breach of trust.
The judge noted that the sexual activities, which took the forms of oral sex, lasted more than three years and had a drastic effect on the youth, so much so that the truth only emerged when he spoke to his parents about his attraction to men, telling them that the abuse had an effect on his sexual orientation.
“What the accused did was deplorable and condemnable because these youths used to attend group meetings and live-ins at the convent to discover whether they had the vocation to become priests and he was their role model who they trusted and was even trusted by their parents,” Madam Justice Scerri Herrera said as she confirmed the three-year jail term.
The court also confirmed the protection order in favour of the victim, ordering the former priest not to speak or approach him and also ordered that the man’s name be listed on the paedophile’s register.
It is not clear whether Fr Bellizzi has since left the priesthood but the case was first investigated by the Church's Safeguarding Commission which referred the matter to the police. The case originally involved three youths but he was only found guilty of defiling one of them. He had also been charged with possession of child pornography but the court did not find him guilty of this charge.
Inspectors Joseph Busuttil and John Spiteri prosecuted. Lawyer Joe Giglio was defence counsel while lawyer Stefano Filletti appeared parte civile for the victim.