Father Antonios Papanikolaou will be required to pay more than €60,000 in order to remain free following a ruling by the Athens Appeals Court in the case concerning the physical abuse of children housed at Kivotos tou Kosmou (Ark of the World).
The appellate court imposed a nine-and-a-half-year prison sentence on the priest, converting the term into a financial penalty calculated at €10 per day, allowing the sentence to be commuted upon payment.
The verdict was delivered after an extensive evidentiary hearing, with all defendants absent from court at the time of the ruling.
In its second-degree judgment, the court found Father Antonios guilty of nine of the 19 offences for which he was tried – all classified as misdemeanours. This marks an increase from the first-instance ruling, where he had been convicted on five charges.
The convictions include six counts of aggravated bodily harm against minors in his care, as well as instigation of dangerous bodily harm, simple bodily harm and threats.
The court also convicted four associates of Father Antonios, among them a former board member of the organisation, the former head of pedagogues in Volos and the former director of the Volos facility.
Sentences for the co-defendants ranged from 20 to 55.5 months, with some converted into monetary penalties and others suspended. Two defendants were acquitted in full.
A further decision is now pending on mitigating circumstances, which will determine the final sentencing framework.
At first instance, Father Antonios had been sentenced to 51 months’ imprisonment, while his associates received sentences ranging from 17 to 40 months, with some granted parole or having their sentences commuted.
Source: Protothema
