Justice minister to present child sexual crime action plan in September

Justice Minister Rita Tamašunienė plans to submit a comprehensive action plan to parliament in early September to address sexual crimes against children, LRT reports.

“The range of work is broad. We are trying to cover all areas and present the parliament with a full action plan at the beginning of September,” Tamašunienė told reporters outside the government.

She said the plan would cover public education, support for victims and other areas.

Tamašunienė also said the government was considering whether to establish a separate register of people convicted of sexual crimes against children or use the existing QR code system. She said there was growing support for making information about such offenders public, possibly through a list.

“There are discussions about personal data protection and other legal details that should be considered at expert level,” she said.

The minister said wider discussions were expected in parliament and its Committee on Legal Affairs and Law Enforcement. She said she could not yet confirm whether the register would be public, but added that she supported the idea. Another option would be to strengthen controls over the QR code system and expand access to it.

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said on Monday that parliament should return to the initiative to create a register of people who have committed sexual crimes against children. President Gitanas Nausėda and parliamentary speaker Juozas Olekas have also said the proposal should be considered.

Tamašunienė said a compromise would also be needed on human rights issues, noting that the proposed register would not necessarily apply to offenders for life.

The discussion comes after the General Prosecutor’s Office said last week that it had sent a criminal case to court involving a Roman Catholic priest who worked in the Vilnius Archdiocese. The priest faces allegations relating to 34 criminal incidents, including the sexual abuse of children, possession of pornographic material and involving children in drinking.

The case is linked to another criminal case sent to court at the end of June against a second priest who also worked in the Vilnius Archdiocese. He is accused of possessing pornographic material.

The General Prosecutor’s Office and the Vilnius Archdiocese have declined to identify the priests. ELTA reported that they are 56-year-old Tadas Švedavičius and 51-year-old Ryšardas Peciunas.