Documentary record Bound by Fear
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Conviction Christian institutions & contexts Catholic Vigo area, Galicia, Spain · 2016

Spain: prominent Galician exorcist priest's conviction for sexually assaulting a parishioner in the sacristy is confirmed on appeal

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

Catholic priest of San Campio parish; Spain's most prominent practising exorcist

Organization

No organization assigned

Spiritual nexus

The victim was a parishioner assaulted inside the church sacristy by the parish's own priest, who invoked religious framing ('God wants you to be well') in the act itself — spiritual authority operating as both the access mechanism and the language of the assault.

  • Pastoral or clerical authority
  • Exorcism or deliverance
  • Threatened spiritual consequence

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2016-09-17 · conviction, confirmed on appeal

    Spain, criminal court (first instance) and Audiencia Provincial de Pontevedra (appeal). José Luis Portela, a 74-year-old priest and Galicia's best-known exorcist, was convicted of sexually assaulting a 42-year-old parishioner in the sacristy of his church in August 2014, where he embraced her, put his hands under her clothing, and told her 'God wants you to be well' while kissing her. He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment (suspended as a first-time offender with a sub-two-year term) and ordered to pay €4,000 compensation. The Audiencia Provincial de Pontevedra confirmed the conviction on appeal. The church expelled him from his parish of 47 years and from exorcism duties following the conviction.

Appellate history

  1. 2016

    Audiencia Provincial de Pontevedra confirmed the conviction on appeal.

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • exorcist/spiritual-authority framing ('God wants you to be well') used during the assault; pastoral access to a parishioner within the church sacristy

Primary record

Sources

national newspaper verdict and sentencing report El Español: El principal exorcista de España, condenado por abuso sexual.

Report of the conviction, the sacristy assault, the 'God wants you to be well' quote, and the sentence.

national newspaper final disposition report El Español: El principal exorcista de España será expulsado de la Iglesia por abusos sexuales.

Report confirming the Audiencia Provincial de Pontevedra upheld the conviction on appeal and the church's expulsion of Portela from ministry and exorcism duties.

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