Legal Process in Peru Initiated by 5 Former Members of the Sodalitium
In October 2015, the 26th Provincial Criminal Prosecutor’s Office of Lima initiated an ex officio investigation for the crime of sexual abuse of minors against one sodalit and two former sodalits. The investigation was opened following the release of the book “Half Monks, Half Soldiers”, in which three of the thirty published testimonies described episodes of sexual abuse that occurred during the 1980s.
In January 2016, the 26th Provincial Criminal Prosecutor’s Office of Lima closed the investigation due to the absence of any victim willing to testify regarding the sexual abuse allegations.
In May 2016, five former members of the Sodalitium filed an expanded criminal complaint alleging the following crimes: (a) mental kidnapping, (b) severe psychological harm, and (c) criminal conspiracy. The complaint named seven current members and three former members of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae as the accused.
After the preparatory investigation began, in October 2016 the Prosecutor’s Office carried out proceedings in Rome (Italy) to obtain the testimony of Luis Fernando Figari, who at that time was residing in Italy under a directive from the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
In January 2017, the 26th Provincial Prosecutor’s Office declared the three reported crimes (mental kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, and severe psychological harm) as non-existent. In March 2017, the 6th Superior Prosecutor’s Office annulled the closure of the investigation.
In November 2017, the 18th Provincial Prosecutor’s Office filed formal charges against some of the individuals under investigation and excluded others. It also requested pre-trial detention for Luis Fernando Figari and former sodalites Virgilio Levaggi, Daniel Murguía, and Jeffery Daniels.
In October 2019, on appeal, the 6th Superior Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the exclusion of some of the accused and definitively closed the case against four sodalites.
In December 2019, the alleged crime of organized criminal activity (criminal conspiracy) was transferred to the 1st Supraprovincial Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime. As a result of this decision, the request for pre-trial detention was annulled.
After five decisions to close the investigation and five appeals that resulted in their annulment, in June 2024, the Prosecutor’s Office issued a sixth and final decision to definitively close the preliminary investigation. Consequently, the preparatory investigation did not proceed or become formalized against those accused of mental kidnapping and severe psychological harm.
Finally, in September 2024, the 2nd National Superior Prosecutor’s Office Specialized in Organized Crime dismissed the appeal filed by the complainants against the Prosecutor’s decision to close the criminal conspiracy case. As a result, the definitive closure of the preparatory investigation was confirmed.