PM says parliament should decide on naming accused sex offenders

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius says Lithuania’s parliament should consider legal changes on publishing the names of people accused of sexual offences, after prosecutors and the Vilnius Archdiocese declined to identify two priests whose cases were sent to court, LRT reports.

“We should consider what changes to the laws are needed, if any, and parliament is capable of addressing them,” Sinkevičius told reporters in Kaunas District on Wednesday.

He said the names had probably not been released because of the presumption of innocence emphasised by prosecutors.

“I think they are not covering up anything because of a personal assessment of a specific case. It seems that, as the prosecutor said yesterday, the presumption of innocence that applies to everyone was the basis for refusing to publish the names,” Sinkevičius said.

He added that in a small country, information that is withheld usually becomes known within days or a week.

Parliament Speaker Juozas Olekas also said on Wednesday that he would review whether legislation should be amended after law enforcement authorities announced the cases.

According to BNS, the cases of two priests accused of sexual offences involving children have been sent to court. One priest is accused of sexual offences against 11 minors allegedly committed between 2002 and 2025. His case was sent to the Vilnius Regional Court.

In the other case, sent to the Vilnius City District Court, a priest is accused of possessing child pornography. There are no victims in that case.

Based on information from the Delfi news portal and the Liteko court schedule system, the accused are Tadas Švedavičius and Ryšardas Peciunas.

The Vilnius Archdiocese says it learned about the priests allegedly committing crimes from prosecutors after pretrial investigations had been launched. The priests were then suspended and canonical investigations were opened against them.

Minister calls for renewed debate on public register

Social Security and Labour Minister Inga Ruginienė said Lithuania should resume discussions on a public register of people convicted of sexual offences.

“I think we need to return to discussions about a register, and people who have committed crimes of this level should certainly be included in it publicly,” Ruginienė told reporters near the government headquarters.

She said any such system must also fully protect victims, warning that public interest in identifying alleged offenders could lead people to search for the victims’ names as well.

Ruginienė said she was shocked and disappointed by what she described as society’s tolerance of such cases. She also said that, in small communities, people had apparently known what was happening but remained silent, leaving victims without help.

Both the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Vilnius Archdiocese declined on Tuesday to disclose the identities of the priests accused of sexual offences against children.