Court to hear priest’s child sexual abuse case in closed session

Vilnius Regional Court will hold the first hearing in the criminal case against priest Tadas Švedavičius, who is accused of sexual offences against children, LRT reported. The hearing is scheduled for September 24 at 1 p.m.

The case will be heard by Sonata Raupėnaitė-Lekarauskienė, a judge in the court’s Criminal Cases Division. The court has previously handled several high-profile cases involving sexual offences against children.

“The hearing will be closed to the public,” Mindaugas Povilanskas, chairman of the Criminal Cases Division at Vilnius Regional Court, told LRT.

Cases involving sexual offences in Lithuania are heard in closed sessions. The accused, their lawyer, victims and their lawyers, as well as the prosecutor, are usually invited to attend.

Švedavičius, who worked in the Archdiocese of Vilnius, faces charges relating to 34 alleged criminal acts. The allegations involve sexual abuse of children, possession of pornographic material and involving children in drinking.

There are 11 victims in the case. They were between 12 and 18 years old when the alleged offences took place. All of them are now adults.

On February 26, a prosecutor from the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office ordered a temporary restriction on Švedavičius’s property rights. In August, the court extended the restriction for another six months.

The alleged offences are believed to have taken place between 2002 and 2025.

The case is linked to a separate criminal case transferred to court at the end of June. In that case, another priest who worked in the Archdiocese of Vilnius, Ryšardas Peciunas, is accused of possessing pornographic material depicting children. His case is due to be heard by Vilnius City District Court this Thursday.

Justas Laucius, chief prosecutor at the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office, said there was no evidence that the two priests had committed offences together. He said, however, that material obtained during one investigation had led to another investigation.

Švedavičius was ordained a priest on June 29, 2001. Last year, he was appointed parish priest of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Dubičiai, 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. He and Švedavičius worked at different times in the same parishes in Paluknys and Rūdiškės.