Documentary record Bound by Fear
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Conviction Christian institutions & contexts Catholic Busto Arsizio, Varese, Lombardy, Italy · 2019

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

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

nun and educator (catechist/youth worker) at the Sant'Edoardo parish oratory

Organization

Oratorio Sant'Edoardo, Busto Arsizio, Figlie di Maria Ausiliatrice (Daughters of Mary Help of Christians)

Spiritual nexus

The relationship began and was sustained entirely through Farè's position as an adult nun-educator at the parish oratory where the victim was a 15-year-old member; the grooming exploited the trust and authority inherent in that religious-educational role over a minor in her charge.

  • Pastoral or clerical authority
  • Institutional obedience or isolation

Evidence structure

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.

Appellate history

  1. Confirmed by Court of Appeal of Milan, 19 March 2019; further confirmed as final by the Corte di Cassazione, December 2019.

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

Primary record

Sources

italian press secondary verdict report 'Cassazione: condanna definitiva a 3 anni e mezzo per violenza sessuale a Maria Angela Farè', December 2019.

Report confirming the Corte di Cassazione's final confirmation of the sentence.

national wire service verdict report 'Ex suora condannata per abusi in appello', ANSA, 19 March 2019.

Italy's national wire service confirming the Milan Court of Appeal's decision, sentence, and the EUR 50,000 compensation order against the congregation.

specialist abuse reporting outlet background 'I diari di Eva, processo suor Mariangela Farè', Rete l'Abuso.

Detailed reporting establishing Farè's role as oratory educator, the victim's age (15) at the relationship's start, and the nature of the grooming.

Related record

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