Abuse

 

Alleged victim tells of 'shock' in Vatican trial.

He told a court how a former papal altar boy sexually abused him

over a period of six years

while both were teens attending a pre-seminary.

 

The alleged victim, now 27,

took the stand in the trial, which …

The trial represents the first time –

the Vatican has criminally prosecuted alleged acts of clerical sex abuse

or their cover-up on its territory.

 

The alleged victim, identified by the initials L.G.,

has accused G of assaulting him

while both were enrolled at the St Pius X pre-seminary.

 

boys are interested in the priesthood.

Martin, who is now a priest,

has denied the accusations and

has testified that they are part of a smear campaign against him.

 

L.G. was 13 at the time the alleged abuse began and Martin 14.

He described how his "shock" turned into eventual "resignation"

after the first episodes of sexual abuse, which

he said began in late 2006 or early 2007, just months after he entered the pre-seminary.

 

He crawled into my bed at night.

 

It was a very strange thing for me.

 

I was little and had never been exposed to the world of sexuality

"At home, or in my town, I had never heard of x.

 

I felt confused, I didn't understand what was going on.

 

" Afterwards, he left "like nothing happened".

 

The acts of touching continued two or three times a week, while

his two roommates slept, or pretended to sleep,

before he began demanding oral or anal sex.

 

The witness described how during a mass at …

as the altar boys waited in a corridor, Martinelli approached him.

 

"This time he turned to me with his robe open and

he was nude underneath.

 

He invited me to follow him into ..

 I was shocked, these things during mass too?"

 

He spoke about him to the pre-seminary's former rector,

R is a co-defendant in the trial for allegedly hushing up the affair and

shielding M from justice.

 

But he did not go into specifics and did not bring up the abuse.

 

I also feel guilty for not being clearer.

 

After leaving the pre-seminary, he tried to block M, who

was calling and sending messages to him.

 

Defence lawyers for M, however, showed contacts made by L.G.,

such as wishing him a happy birthday on Facebook,

a text message asking for help finding a room to rent in Rome,

and a long message - on Facebook Messenger - accusing M of being jealous of L.G.'s friendship with another former altar boy.

 

Under Pope Francis and his predecessor Benedict XVI,

 

the Vatican has taken an increasingly harder line against clerical sex abuse and cover ups, after repeated worldwide scandals.