Child abuse, Caserta priest arrested: he had already been removed

Caserta. Former parish priest of Presenzano, Don Gianfranco Roncone, arrested for child abuse.

The 55-year-old is under house arrest following an investigation launched last December, which also led to a search of his former parish. The priest is also under investigation for soliciting child prostitution and possession of child pornography.

The preliminary investigations judge Marcello De Chiara of the Naples court has ordered the house arrest of the priest, originally from Sparanise in the province of Caserta, carried out by the Carabinieri of the Vairano Scalo station.

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Don Gianfranco Roncone was involved in a case of sexual abuse of minors, a crime for which a personal precautionary measure was ordered, while he is seriously suspected of the crimes of inducing minors to prostitution and possession of child pornography. The scandal involving Don Roncone broke out on December 23, 2020 when the Carabinieri of the Vairano Scalo station acquired the telematic devices (cell phone and personal computer) used by the priest of the Presenzano community to verify the presence of child pornography or which attested to the intertwining of a relationship with minors.

From the military's findings, two distinct episodes emerged, dating back to December 2019 and September 2020, to the detriment of a 17-year-old boy, a faithful of the parish.

Episodes that had been reported by the minor. After the search and the report the Diocese of Teano took immediate action and on December 24th Bishop Giacomo Cirulli banned the parish priest Don Gianfranco Roncone from exercising the public ministry of priest, removing him from the parish community of Presenzano.

According to the magistrate investigating the reported incidents, the parish priest of Sparanise would have also induced some minors to engage in child prostitution in addition to possessing child pornography, but these accusations have been contested by the priest's lawyers Renato Jappelli and Dario Mancino. According to what was announced by the lawyer Dario Mancino, Don Gianfranco Roncone will shortly be heard by the investigators. The lawyers assure that the matter will be clarified before the judiciary. The lawyer Mancino announces an appeal to the Review Court to request the revocation of house arrest.

The legal affair has created a clear rift between the diocese and the Community of Presenzano, which did not hesitate to stand united in defense of a parish priest in recent months.