By clothing-bag, 15/08/2022

The Mormon Church of Córdoba paid 4.5 million to cover an alleged violation

A man named Marcelo Moreno was arrested in Villa Allende accused of being the alleged author of a violation to the detriment of a child under 14 years.The arrest occurred today, but the fact goes back to 2017.The reason why the episode remained hidden is that Moreno had an important position within the temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of the last days (known as the Mormon Church).As a result, the institution achieved, through its highest provincial references, an extrajudicial agreement with the girl's parents.In the agreement, the Church negotiates in the name of the alleged rapist an economic agreement in exchange for anyone to speak of what happened and the alleged violation is hidden.

As stated in the judicial testimonies, before the legal agreement, the girl told what she lived to her friends and, thanks to the managers of the school where she studied, a criminal complaint was filed.In his judicial statement, when the victim was asked what he expected after telling what happened to him, he said: "I hope they put him in prison".

Until the Chamber Prosecutor Marcelo Hidalgo ordered his capture, the alleged rapist (full Sunname is Marcelo Héctor Darío Moreno Pérez) enjoyed absolute freedom and, in addition to attending the Church, he worked as a teacher in a public school in this province.

Although there are two DNA analyzes for genetic remains found in the clothes of the minor that complicate him, in his judicial statement Moreno denied the fact and refrained from declaring.

Cover everything

The agreement signed between the Mormon Church and the victim's family is confidential and inaccessible to the press.However, CBA24N.com.Ar was able to confirm that he was made under the coordination of one of the top representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of the last days at the time of rape: the head of stake Alejandro Federico Paolantonio.Next to the pastor of the parish of Villa Allende where the events occurred, Héctor Hugo Herrador, accompanied Moreno Pérez when negotiating with the family.

Although there was already a criminal complaint by processing in justice, the highest provincial authorities of that church at the time of the facts proposed "an arrangement" to the mother for which "without recognizing any fact" the Church itself in the name of Moreno (The alleged rapist) promised to pay four million five hundred thousand pesos ($ 4.500.000) To the adolescent family.

The agreement that was approved by civil justice, has two important restrictions.The first is that the girl and her environment must give up "to start any other action against the Church and its subsidiaries in the world.The second, which abstained to disseminate the fact under the threat of being sued by the Church if the same transcend.

At this point CBA24N.com.ar detach from this news to the girl's family whom we don't even try to contact.We access this information through off sources.The Mormon Church, as this media could know, also paid 775 thousand pesos to the lawyers who represented the girl's family.

Accessed by the situation, Paolantonio said he had "any idea of the terms of the agreement" generated between "the legal part of the Church and the victim's family".Paolantonio was president of the stake of the two parishes where victim and victimizer attended."The Church was involved, but had no participation," he said.The pastor said he did not know the existence of an economic contribution of the Church: "I have no idea because the Church is handled with a system, we manage with the spiritual".Then he was consulted what spiritual support the Church had made the victim and Paolantonio replied: “The man involved is not going anymore and the girl either.With this pandemic we have missed many ".

The attack

The details of the fact are difficult to describe without falling into revictimization.However, understanding that in her judicial statement and before her environment the teenager was clear to claim that what happened does not impunity, CBA24N considers it important to give information that demonstrates the magnitude of what has been intended to hide.

The incident would have occurred in the house of Moreno, located in Villa Allende Golf neighborhood on September 3, 2017.That day Marcelo Moreno, who served as president of the young men of the Church, offered to do "a favor" to the child's mother who was with personal problems.The mother of the abused minor had arrived at Villa Allende a few months before with three children in charge of another town in the interior.It was the church itself that appointed Moreno as his companion.

In the criminal investigation - regardless of the economic agreement - the minor said that his alleged attacker enjoyed his mother's trust because he was part of the Church, erally the president of young men, who within the Church are the ones who are on their wayto the priesthood.Many times Marcelo Moreno had taken the whole family to events like "The Holy Supper", a common ceremony in religion.

The day of the fact Moreno had to take the minor girl, to the headquarters of the Church in Arguello and then to Chorus at the headquarters of Villa Allende, which is located at the corner of Alsina and Rivera Indarte of that city.According to the child's story, when he left the choir he told him that he needed to go through his house in Villa Allende Golf and when they arrived he invited her to get off to take something.Inside the house (the wife and three children of Moreno were not) the man began to tell him that he could count on him, that he was his friend and finally hugged her and then raised her and start the attack.

The description of the episode is precise, concrete and meticulous.Even the moment of the Moreno attack was wearing and had to get the garment (or temple clothes) that is a garment similar to the underpants that the elderly and with responsibilities should use when entering the temple.According to Mormon philosophy, this garment "symbolizes purity and is used by those who have made promises of fidelity to the commandments of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ".Those temple clothes, which according to the child, Moreno did not get to rape her represents "the sacred aspect of the personal relationship of the faithful with God and his commitment to live in a dignified and honorable way".

In the moments after the attack the man retired to the bathroom where the garment was put again and would have been crying and apologizing.The minor says that he told him that he "did not want to do what he did", but simply "wanted to be support".Then he assured him that he was not "telling anyone" what had happened suggesting her that she didn't do it either.

The Mormon Church in Córdoba has 54 congregations distributed in ten "stakes".Each of those stakes has a president and two counselors.To financially support each parishion.