Bolivian Abuse Survivors Demand Justice and Tougher Penalties
Bolivian abuse survivors and their supporters gathered outside a church in Cochabamba to celebrate a landmark court ruling while demanding stronger penalties for those who conceal sexual abuse. The court sentenced two elderly Spanish Jesuit priests, Marcos Recolons and Ramon Alaix, to a year each in prison for concealing decades of child sex abuse committed by their colleague, Alfonso Pedrajas. Pedrajas’ diary, published in 2023, revealed he abused at least 85 minors between 1972 and 2000.
Inadequate Punishment Sparks Frustration
Wilder Flores, president of the Community of Survivors of Ecclesiastical Sexual Abuse, expressed frustration with the lenient punishment. “Unfortunately, in our country’s laws, the penalty for the crime of concealment is very short,” Flores said. Prosecutors argued that Recolons and Alaix, who led the Jesuit order in Bolivia, were aware of the allegations against Pedrajas but failed to report them to the police, allowing the abuse to continue.
A Step Towards Justice
The convictions mark Bolivia’s first successful criminal prosecution against high-ranking members of the Catholic Jesuit order implicated in concealing abuse cases. While the survivors celebrated this milestone, they emphasized the need for tougher penalties to hold perpetrators and those who cover up abuse accountable,
