VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The alleged victim of sexual abuse in a Vatican youth seminary said in court on Wednesday that his abuser wanted sex in a bathroom behind an altar in St. Peter’s Basilica, but he resisted the progress .
The alleged victim, who is now 28 and only identified as LG, testified in the latest trial of the trial of two priests, one charged with ill-treatment and the other for covering up the attacks.
LG claims that Gabriele Martinelli, now 28 and now a priest, repeatedly forced him to have sex, mostly while they were both minors in the Pius X Pre-Seminary.
The seminary houses altar boys who serve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica – the domed papal church in the heart of the Vatican – and are considering becoming priests.
The events allegedly took place between 2007 and 2012 and Martinelli later became a priest in northern Italy.
LG said Martinelli would slip into his bed at night and force him to touch him and also to have sex in another room. Martinelli, who testified last month, denied the allegations.
LG said during a three-hour trial on Wednesday that Martinelli tried to convince him to have sex in a bathroom behind one of the altars in St. Peter’s Basilica, while both had to serve the mass.
“I was shocked,” LG said, adding that he refused to follow Martinelli, who was naked under his locker, to the bathroom.
The other accused is father Enrico Radice (72), who was rector at the time and who is accused of covering up the alleged abuse.
Prosecutors say Radice did not prevent Martinelli from becoming a priest after leaving kindergarten, even though he knew about the abuse.
Radice, who gave Martinelli supervisory responsibilities over the other altar boys, denies this.
Reported by Philip Pullella; Edited by Alison Williams