Italy: nun convicted of sexually abusing a 15-year-old she groomed at her parish oratory

Proceedings

1. Date in cited record · conviction and sentence

   Tribunale di Busto Arsizio, Italy. Maria Angela ('Mariangela') Farè, a nun then aged 38 serving as an educator at the Sant'Edoardo oratory, was convicted of sexual violence, private violence and stalking against Eva Sacconago, whom she had groomed from age 15 in a relationship that lasted roughly 13 years. The conviction centered on a specific episode weeks before Sacconago's 2011 death, during which the victim was restrained with ankle cuffs. The court of first instance sentenced Farè to 3 years and 6 months' imprisonment.

2. 2019-03-19 · appeal

   Corte d'Appello di Milano, Italy. The Court of Appeal of Milan confirmed the 3-year-6-month sentence and ordered the Figlie di Maria Ausiliatrice congregation to pay EUR 50,000 in compensation to Sacconago's parents.

3. 2019-12-01 · final appeal

   Corte di Cassazione, Italy. The Court of Cassation definitively confirmed the conviction, making the sentence final.

Documented coercion mechanisms

• position as adult religious educator over a 15-year-old oratory member
• prolonged grooming through hundreds of letters and declarations exploiting the victim's confusion about the nature of the relationship
• physical restraint during the charged assault