Parliament to consider public register of sex offenders

LRT reports that Parliament Speaker Juozas Olekas will present draft legislation on Thursday to create a public register of people convicted of crimes against children.

The amendments were registered in late August by Olekas and several dozen members of parliament, most of them from the ruling Lithuanian Social Democratic Party faction.

Under the proposal, the online register would be accessible to everyone without registration. It would list a convicted person’s first and last name, year of birth, municipality of residence and the date when the conviction took effect.

The information would remain public for five years after the person completed their sentence or a criminal measure was completed. It would then be removed.

The register would not include photographs, exact home addresses or other details that could help identify a child who was a victim. Information could be removed earlier if a conviction were overturned, the person were rehabilitated or proceedings were reopened because of newly discovered circumstances.

The draft would also prohibit using the information to discriminate against or intimidate convicted people or their family members, or for purposes unrelated to protecting children.

If adopted, the new rules would take effect in January next year. President Gitanas Nausėda has previously said the proposal is worth considering, arguing that public access to the information could reduce the likelihood of such crimes being repeated.

Charges against two priests

The proposal comes after the General Prosecutor’s Office announced in mid-August that it had referred to court a case against a Roman Catholic priest who worked in the Vilnius Archdiocese. He faces charges in 34 incidents involving sexual abuse of children, possession of pornographic material and involving children in drinking. The alleged offences may have continued for more than 20 years.

The case is connected to another criminal case referred to court in late June against a second priest who also worked in the Vilnius Archdiocese. He is charged with possessing pornographic material.

Although the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Vilnius Archdiocese have declined to identify the priests, the accused are 56-year-old Tadas Švedavičius and 51-year-old Ryšardas Peciunas.

Temporary restrictions on Švedavičius’s property were imposed in February on the order of a prosecutor from the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office. In August, the Vilnius Regional Court extended the restrictions for another six months.

Vilnius Archbishop Gintaras Grušas previously said that Švedavičius admits his guilt, has asked to be dismissed from the priesthood and intends to compensate the victims. Peciunas denies the charges.