Former Casa Pia student to stand trial over defamatory statements
A YOUTH, who made an accusation of sexual abuse against Parliamentary President Jaime Gama during the Casa Pia scandal, has been charged with defamation.
The case relates to a complaint by the parliament’s chief over statements made by the 24-year-old former Casa Pia student. It is the first time that a witness for the prosecution in the Casa Pia case has been ordered to appear before a court to face charges for statements made to the Public Ministry.
During court questioning, the youth told how he had been forced to participate in sexual orgies at a house in Restelo, Lisbon, and how he had been sexually abused in an apartment in Cascais belonging to former ambassador Jorge Ritto. It was in this context that he mentioned the names of former PS leader Ferro Rodrigues, Jaime Gama and Benfica squad trainer, Fernando Chalana. According to Diário de Notícias, Ferro Rodrigues is also taking the youth to court over the alleged accusations.
In the meantime, the court currently hearing the case is to hear accusations brought by another two witnesses in the coming week. A former Casa Pia pupil has told the prosecution that, in 1986 and 1987, he was taken to a house in Cascais by Carlos Silvino (aka Bibi), where he met five men, among them former TV presenter Carlos Cruz. The same youth also said he was taken to a house in Serra da Arrábida, where he met foreign individuals who were accompanied by well-known figures in the Portuguese artistic world.
Psychological tests carried out on Carlos Cruz at Miguel Bombarda Hospital were inconclusive in their determination to show that the TV presenter had a paedophile profile. In their report, doctors noted that the tests showed Cruz had evidence of obsessive narcissistic traits, which were not consistent with that of a child abuser.
