Court to consider interim measures in priest’s child abuse case

Vilnius Regional Court will hold the first hearing on Thursday in the criminal case against priest Tadas Švedavičius, who is accused of crimes of a sexual nature against children, LRT reports. The case itself will not be heard yet. The court will decide whether to impose interim procedural measures.

Court representatives have not said which specific measures will be considered. Such matters often involve restrictions on a defendant’s ability to dispose of property. Prosecutors have previously said that civil claims had been filed in the case and that Švedavičius’s rights to his real estate had been restricted.

The LITEKO court information system says Judge Audrius Cininas will consider the issue in written proceedings. Under this procedure, the parties to the case are not summoned and do not attend the hearing.

The priest, who worked in the Vilnius Archdiocese, is accused in 34 criminal episodes involving the sexual abuse of children, possession of pornographic material and involving children in drinking. The case has 11 victims, who were between 12 and 18 years old when the alleged crimes took place. All of them are now adults.

Courts award victims of sexual crimes compensation for material and non-material damage, as well as legal costs. Former member of the Seimas Kristijonas Bartoševičius, who was sentenced to seven years in prison, was ordered to pay 32,000 euros in material and non-material damages to victims.

Case linked to another investigation

The alleged offences in the Švedavičius case are believed to have taken place from 2002 to 2025.

The case is linked to another criminal case sent to court at the end of June. In that case, another priest who worked in the Vilnius Archdiocese, Ryšardas Peciunas, is accused of possessing pornographic material depicting a child or a person presented as a child.

Justas Laucius, chief prosecutor of the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office, said there was no information that the two priests had committed crimes together. He said material obtained while investigating one case had led to additional circumstances being identified and a separate investigation being opened.

Laucius did not specify how law enforcement authorities received the information about the alleged crimes.

Švedavičius was ordained a priest on June 29, 2001. Last year, he was appointed parish priest of the Dubičiai Sacred Heart of Jesus parish, a position he held until December 19, 2025. Before that, he worked in three other parishes in the Trakai and Šalčininkai districts.

Peciunas was ordained on November 21, 1999. At different times, he and Švedavičius worked in the same Paluknys St John the Baptist parish and Rūdiškės Sacred Heart of Jesus parish.

Peciunas’s case has been assigned to Vilnius District Court. Švedavičius’s case, which concerns more serious charges, will be heard by Vilnius Regional Court, but no trial hearing has yet been scheduled. Judge Cininas will decide only on the interim procedural measures and will not hear the criminal case. The judge assigned to hear it is currently on holiday and is expected to schedule the first hearings after returning.