Media identify two priests accused of sexual crimes

LRT reported Tuesday that two Catholic priests have been identified in connection with separate criminal cases involving alleged sexual crimes against minors and possession of child pornography.

According to the news portal Delfi, 56-year-old priest Tadas Švedavičius is accused of sexual crimes against minors. He was ordained on June 29, 2001. A second priest, 51-year-old Ryšardas Peciunas, is accused of possessing child pornography. He was ordained on November 21, 1999.

Prosecutor Justas Laucius, chief prosecutor at the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office, said the first case involves 34 deliberate crimes classified as less serious, serious and very serious. The charges include offences against sexual freedom and inviolability, crimes against children and offences against public morality.

According to the prosecution, the priest is accused of inducing children to drink alcohol on 13 occasions, exploiting them for pornography nine times, molesting people under the age of 16 four times, and satisfying sexual desire in exchange for payment while violating a minor’s sexual freedom on three occasions. He is also accused of two cases of raping a minor and one case of raping a young child.

Eleven people have been recognised as victims in the case. They were between 12 and 18 years old when the alleged crimes took place, the prosecutor said.

The case has been referred to the Vilnius Regional Court. Prosecutors say the alleged offences took place from 2002 to 2025, a period of 23 years. Most were allegedly committed in residences belonging to the Roman Catholic Church where the priest lived. The alleged crimes took place in six different locations in Lithuania, with most occurring within the territory of the Archdiocese of Vilnius.

The Criminal Code provides for up to 15 years in prison for the most serious sexual offence alleged in the case. The accused has been ordered not to leave Lithuania and has had his passport confiscated. His rights to real estate have also been restricted to secure the victims’ civil claims.

A separate criminal case involving the other priest was referred to the Vilnius City District Court in June. Prosecutors say there are no victims in that case, which concerns visual material depicting a child or a person presented as a child. The court plans to begin examining the case on September 19.

The second accused priest has also been ordered not to leave Lithuania. Laucius said the two cases involved constructive cooperation with the Archdiocese of Vilnius. Both priests have been suspended from their duties and are not carrying out public pastoral work.

The Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference said in July that canonical investigations into five possible cases of sexual abuse were under way in the country’s dioceses at the end of 2025. Two of the investigations had begun that year and three in previous years.