Sexual violence in the Church: ex-priest Bernard Preynat arrested and imprisoned in the Loire to serve his sentence – franceinfo

The former priest Bernard Preynat, sentenced on March 16, 2020 to five years in prison by the criminal court of Lyon for sexual assaults on minors committed between 1971 and 1991 in the diocese of Lyon, was arrested in the Loire, has learned franceinfo from a source close to the case, confirming information from M6. Bernard Preynat, now 76 years old, had not appealed against his conviction, he was arrested to serve his sentence.

The former priest is now imprisoned in the remand center of La Talaudière (Loire) after being presented to the prosecution. Bernard Preynat had previously avoided incarceration for health reasons, but the Saint-Etienne prosecutor’s office indicates in a press release that“with regard to medical expertise […] establishing that Bernard Preynat did not present a pathology involving his life-threatening prognosis and his state of health did not appear ‘severely incompatible with his placement in detention within the framework of a structure of specialized penitentiary care’ the court of the application of sentences de Lyon rejected his request for suspension of sentence “.

Maintained in office by the diocese of Lyon until the fall of 2015 when his actions had been known for a long time, the former chaplain was defrocked during the summer of 2019 at the end of his canonical trial.

This affair also sealed the fate of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin. Prosecuted for non-denunciation of sexual assault, the Primate of Gaul had been convicted at first instance before being released on appeal. To enable the Church to “turn the page”, the cardinal had handed in his resignation to the Pope.