The priest of a monastery situated in the municipality of Chisinau stood trial for sexually abusing the daughter of the woman with whom he lived during over three years. The Buiucani Court sentenced him to 16 years in jail and ordered him to pay 100,000 lei in respect of non-pecuniary damage to the victim, IPN reports.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases, in 2016 the girl’s mother and the priest decided to cohabit as a family, together with the girl who was in the sixth grade then. A year later, when the girl was 13, the man started to abuse her sexually, including in perverse forms, inside the monastery as well. The girl was threatened that if she refused to have sex, her school mates would find out about this relationship. The girl didn’t tell anyone about what had happened to her as she was ashamed. The truth came out after her mother and the priest broke up as the latter abused alcoholic drinks and was aggressive.

After legal action was taken, the victim was offered psychological and social counseling and was temporarily placed at a center intended for victims of trafficking in persons.