Peru’s attorney general will not seek charges against Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV) founder Luis Figari for sex abuse for lack of evidence.
After an investigation which lasted over a year, prosecutors said on Monday that they would not seek indictments against Figari or six other SCV leaders including Jaime Baertl, Virgilio Levaggi, Jose Ambrozic, Jose Antonio Eguren, Eduardo Regal, Oscar Tokumura and Erwin Scheuch.
“There was not one victim who came forward to report that he was a victim of abuse,” prosecutor Maria Peralta told El Comercio. She added that the statute of limitations would likely exonerate Figari, who founded SCV 40 years ago.
Peralta also said that most of the accusers were of legal age when joining the SCV. Figari’s lawyers produced letters indicating the victims were adults when they requested membership and that minors are not accepted.
The apostolic society with groups in nine countries was rocked by revelations of widespread sex abuse by Figari and other top leaders in the 2015 book, “Half Monks, Half Soldiers,” by journalists Pedro Salinas and Paola Ugaz. The revelations prompted investigations of rape, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy and other crimes.
While Figari will not be charged, current SCV leader Allesandro Moroni published a YouTube video last April declaring Figari “guilty” and “persona non grata.”
Figari retired in 2007 and now lives in Italy.
Figari founded the SCV society in Peru in 1971. Officially recognized by Pope John Paul II in 1997, “Sodalicio” has since grown to become one of the world’s larger conservative Catholic societies, similar to Opus Dei, with active societies in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Italy and the United States.
Sources
Fiscalía archivó denuncia contra Luis Fernando Figari, fundador del Sodalicio (Peru 21)
Sodalicio: fiscalía archivó las denuncias contra Luis Figari (El Comercio)
Sodalicio: denuncia contra Luis Figari fue archivada por Ministerio Público (La Republica)
Alessandro Moroni declaró ante el Ministerio Público por el caso Sodalicio (La Republica)
The Sodalitium in Peru (Sodalitium Christianae Vitae)
Peru: The Sodalitium scandal – Latin America Investigates (Al Jazeera)
