Julio César Grassi
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Julio César Grassi (born 14 August 1956) is an Argentine
Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
and convicted
sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...
,
child molester Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whether ...
and fraudster.


Early life and priesthood

Julio César Grassi was born on 14 August 1956 in
Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires Lomas de Zamora is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, located south of the City of Buenos Aires and within the metropolitan area of Greater Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Lomas de Zamora Partido and has a population of 111,897 ...
. Grassi went on to study philosophy and religious studies and was ordained as a priest in October 1987. Grassi became a well-known priest on Argentine television, regularly appearing on different shows and promoting charitable works. He eventually won a national television award for his works at a radio station in the 1990s. In December 1993, Grassi founded a foundation for children in need which assisted over 6,000 boys and girls in twenty-one cities across the country, providing them with food, clothing, education, homes and religious studies. Over time, the foundation received large quantities of donations and began to host children under judicial processes.


Accusations

In 1991, an acquaintance of Grassi filed a report at a Court of Minors, saying that Grassi sexually abused and molested children. The case was later dismissed and archived. In 2000, a prosecutor opened another case against Grassi on the basis of anonymous letters that he had received, alleging that Grassi sexually abused and molested many children during his time at the foundation. Again, the case was archived. In July 2001, irregularities about his management of the foundation arose and he was evicted from his position by bishop
Justo Oscar Laguna Justo Oscar Laguna (September 25, 1929 – November 3, 2011) was the Roman Catholic bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Morón, Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a ...
who placed him as religious counselor. In October 2002, a news station conducted an extensive journalistic investigation and presented alleged proof that Grassi had maintained a sexual encounter with a 15-year-old boy against the boy's will. In response, Grassi disappeared and was declared a fugitive. After few days, Grassi presented himself at a television station and was arrested and placed under
house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
. In June 2006, as the first case advanced, a 17-year-old boy presented himself and said that Grassi had sexually abused him repeatedly between 1998 and 2003. Five other minors between the ages of 11 and 17 were allegedly abused by Grassi during this time, according to the two minors who already had reported him to the police.


Trial and convictions

Grassi was tried in August 2008 for the two first cases of sexual abuse of minors and corruption of minors. He was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. However, Grassi remained out of prison under the concept of law in Argentina where a defendant may or may not remain free until the sentence is ratified by upper courts. Between the sentence and 2017, Grassi avoided prison, until March 2017, when the
Supreme Court of Argentina The Supreme Court of Argentina ( es, link=no, Corte Suprema de Argentina), officially known as the Supreme Court of Justice of the Argentine Nation ( es, link=no, Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación Argentina, CSJN), is the highest court of l ...
ratified the first instance conviction and sentence of 15 years in prison. In 2016, Grassi was tried for money laundering over the handling of the foundation's money and was convicted of the charges and sentenced to further two years in prison.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grassi, Julio Cesar Living people 1956 births Argentine Roman Catholic priests Catholic priests convicted of child sexual abuse Argentine fraudsters People from Lomas de Zamora