Documentary record Bound by Fear
← Explore all cases
Conviction Christian institutions & contexts Catholic Banjol, Rab, Krk Diocese, Croatia · 2009

Croatia: Krk Diocese priest's final conviction for indecent acts against five boys, upheld on appeal

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

parish priest, Banjol (island of Rab); religious-education teacher, Krk diocesan school

Organization

Krk Diocese

Spiritual nexus

As parish priest and religion teacher, Ljubičić held direct pastoral and instructional authority over the boys, using one-on-one time built into that role to abuse them.

  • Pastoral or clerical authority
  • Guru or spiritual-teacher authority

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. Date in cited record · conviction; upheld on appeal (final)

    County Court, Rijeka (first instance and appeal, per press). Fr Drago Ljubičić, parish priest of Banjol on the island of Rab and a religion teacher at a Krk diocesan school, was convicted of indecent acts against five underage boys he touched on the genitals and coerced into reciprocating, with abuse occurring when the boys were aged approximately 10 to 12. He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, confirmed on appeal in November 2009 in what Croatian press describe as the country's most prominent Catholic clergy child-abuse case. He was released in 2012, seven months early, for good conduct.

Appellate history

  1. 2009-11

    County Court, Rijeka, confirmed the three-year sentence; final.

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • authority as parish priest and religion teacher over boys aged 10-12
  • one-on-one settings arranged under cover of religious instruction

Primary record

Sources

national newspaper court reporting verdict and release report Novi list: 'Svećenik osuđen zbog pedofilije ranije pušten iz zatvora: Drago Ljubičić vratio se na Krk'.

Reports the final three-year sentence, the five video-testifying child victims, and Ljubičić's early release in 2012.

national newspaper court reporting background roundup Index.hr roundup of Croatian clergy-abuse convictions, Ljubičić entry.

Confirms the November 2009 County Court confirmation of the sentence.

Related record

Related cases · Christian institutions & contexts

← Explore all cases