Priest accused of killing 16-year-old altar boy, body found in Bayaguana, Dominican Republic

A priest has been accused of killing a 16-year-old altar boy in the Dominican Republic, according to reports of the case. The reports do not establish guilt, and the accusations have not been tried in court.

According to the young man’s uncle, Victor Saviñón, the boy had served as an altar boy for 10 years at the church of Our Lady of Fatima in Santo Domingo Norte. Reports identify the accused priest as Elvis, who is supposedly the parish priest of the Church of Santa Cecilia in the Los Rosales sector of Santo Domingo Este. A statement from the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, provided to Telenoticias, named the parish priest as Elvin Taveras Durán and said the archdiocese deplores the death of the young man, who was allegedly killed by a blow from a hammer.

According to the testimony of Victor Saviñón, the priest admitted that he killed the young man, allegedly out of jealousy. Reports say the priest took the minor’s body to a wooded area of Bayaguana, near Sabana Grande de Boya on the way to Monte Plata, and that a taxi driver may have transported him to the site. The body was found on August 6. It was taken to Marcelino Vélez hospital in a state of decomposition and was later transferred to the morgue of the Christ Redeemer cemetery.

The priest was initially taken to the Felicidad detachment in the Los Mina sector of Santo Domingo Este. According to the uncle, the priest sexually raped the young man and is believed to have offered him money to keep silent. These are the uncle’s claims as reported; no court has ruled on them. The allegations involving a minor who served in a church community show the need to protect the vulnerable (Mark 9:42).

By Wednesday, the suspect was reportedly transferred from the Felicidad detachment to another location that was not identified.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Spanish)