Priest says parents sent videos of minors found by law enforcement

LRT reported that priest Ryšardas Peciunas, who has been charged with possessing pornographic material depicting children, says the videos found by law enforcement were sent to him by the parents of the minors shown in them.

“There are two children involved. They are the children of a close family that I have been in contact with for many years,” Peciunas told tv3.lt.

The family also confirmed that it had sent the priest videos featuring their underage daughter. Henrieta, a friend of the priest who lives abroad, said one of the videos showed the girl undressed after she had briefly removed a wet swimsuit. She said the girl was not posing or displaying herself and that there was no pornography in the footage.

ELTA reported that two criminal cases involving priests accused of sexual offences against minors have been referred to court.

In one case, a priest who worked in the Vilnius Archdiocese is charged with 34 criminal episodes involving the sexual abuse of children, possession of pornographic material and involving children in drinking. The case has 11 alleged victims, who were aged between 12 and 18 when the alleged offences took place. The offences are alleged to have occurred between 2002 and 2025. The defendant is 56-year-old T. Švedavičius.

That case is linked to a separate case referred to court at the end of June, in which Peciunas, another priest who worked in the Vilnius Archdiocese, is charged with possessing pornographic material depicting children.