Documentary record Bound by Fear
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Conviction Christian institutions & contexts Evangelical, Pentecostal, and independent Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica · 2019

Costa Rica: pastor convicted on 13 counts of sexual abuse, 66 years nominal

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

pastor of a church in Santa Cruz

Organization

No organization assigned

Spiritual nexus

At least one victim, a 13-year-old, was summoned by the pastor to a church meeting where abuse occurred, and the pattern ran through church-related activities — the pastoral office supplied both the summons and the trust.

  • Pastoral or clerical authority

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2019-01-01 · conviction and sentence

    Costa Rican criminal court, Guanacaste. Hilario Gutiérrez Pérez, pastor of a church in the Buenos Aires district of Santa Cruz, was convicted on 13 counts of sexual abuse against four victims, including a 13-year-old summoned to a church meeting. The nominal sentence of 66 years was adjusted to an effective 21 years under Costa Rica's concurrent-sentence rules.

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • church meetings and church-related activities used to isolate victims
  • pastoral standing over congregants including a minor

Primary record

Sources

national newspaper court reporting verdict and sentencing report 'Pastor evangélico condenado a 21 años de cárcel', La Nación (Costa Rica).

Costa Rica's paper of record reporting the conviction and the effective sentence.

Related record

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