The prosecutor’s office has requested a new decade-long prison term for Pere Barceló, the former rector of the parish of Can Picafort in Mallorca, who faces charges related to sexual abuse of a minor. The case follows his prior serving of six years for raping an altar girl. The current charges allege that the individual subjected a minor to touching between 2007 and 2008, when the girl was around six years old. Prosecutors claim Barceló leveraged his role and the influence it carried, and they seek 40,000 euros in compensation for the victim, noting ongoing psychological effects. The case is being heard in the District Court, with no hearing date set at this time.
The interim decision document submitted by the Prosecutor’s Office, obtained by Diario de Mallorca, indicates Barceló was appointed parish priest of the church of l’Assumpció de Maria on June 21, 1996. He previously taught catechism to local youths. According to the prosecutor, Barceló abused one minor on at least one occasion between 2007 and 2008, though the exact date could not be pinpointed. The office states the then-priest placed the girl on his lap and claimed his actions were meant to satisfy his sexual desires, while he inappropriately touched her. It is argued that Barceló benefited from his status to be around minors without parental supervision, and he was believed to rely on the perceived authority his position granted to influence the victim, who was unable to resist or seek help.
The 2018 complaint filed by the victim marked the beginning of the ongoing psychological impact, including nightmares, depressive symptoms, mood swings, and emotional distress. The Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges against Barceló for sexual abuse involving a minor, seeking a ten-year prison sentence and 40,000 euros in compensation to the victim. In addition, the Diocese of Mallorca is named as a civilly responsible party to address potential compensation. A restraining order is requested to keep Barceló at least 500 meters away from the victim and to prohibit contact for twenty years.
The prosecutors note that the criminal record cannot be used to determine recidivism as an aggravating factor because the alleged offenses occurred before the initial conviction for sexual abuse.
convicted of rape
Earlier, Barceló was imprisoned for six years after a 2016 conviction for sexually abusing a girl who participated in a religious class. In the late 1990s, he admitted in the Palma Provincial Court to repeatedly raping a boy aged ten, expressing remorse. The case involved a plea agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office, which had initially sought a much longer sentence.
Barceló became the first priest in Spain to be expelled by the Church for sexual abuse after the Diocese opened an investigation in 2010. The inquiry examined decades of complaints and accusations related to actions in Burundi (Africa), Cala Rajada, and Can Picafort. The church found him guilty of sexually abusing multiple girls without mitigation and, in March 2013, imposed the maximum canon-law penalty: expulsion from the priesthood.
Following the six-year term handed down by the Palma Court, Barceló served the full sentence at Segovia prison and was released in August 2022.
The former rector of Can Picafort, aged around 70, faces a second trial for sexual abuse of minors. Legal sources confirm the new case will be heard in the first section of the Regional Court of Justice, though a hearing date has not yet been set.