Thiago Cardoso, a cleric volunteering at a monastery in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem neighborhood, faces accusations of multiple instances of sexual misconduct involving minors from the Notre Dame de Sion community.
The monastery offers a structured setting for foreign children, whose parents work long hours, providing them with a safe space to complete homework, watch television and participate in outings like going to the movies.
B, the mother of one of the affected minors says that her children have been in the program since they were born and shared about the emotional trauma her son experienced.
"He confessed to me, 'I felt like I was his experiment, I had finally met someone who made me feel human - and he degraded me,'" she told Ynet in an interview.
"I got a sense that something was wrong when Thiago suddenly cut off all contact. I asked my son about it, and he admitted he had been touched multiple times. The incidents happened inside the monastery, in the television room. Thiago would invite my son over on weekends and touch him."
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Her son, who has a disability, pleaded with her not to disclose the matter to anyone. "He had a very difficult time opening up to me. He felt humiliated. It's hard for him to trust people because of his past traumas, and after finally meeting someone he felt comfortable with, that person betrayed and hurt him," she added.
"As a worried mother, I asked Thiago to come see me. I confronted him about my son's allegations. He denied everything, claiming it wasn't true. His reaction to our conversation was one of genuine surprise, I will never forget the look on his face. At the start of the year, a clergyman came to see me. I shared the incident with him, having cut all ties with the community since the incident. My son, mature enough to do so, decided to file a police complaint, and the clergyman forwarded the details to the authorities."
The mother further shared, "Together with other parents, we gradually connected the dots. It became clear that there was a similar pattern of exploitation with other children in the monastery. He preyed on the vulnerable children in the community and inflicted harm. The idea that a priest would sexually harass children within a monastery is beyond comprehension. I urge parents to be vigilant about where you place your children. And take note: a child's behavior changes when they experience harm."
Earlier this month, the Jerusalem District Court filed an indictment against Thiago Cardoso, a Brazilian priest in his thirties, on charges of indecent acts involving five minors, all under the age of 16.
According to the indictment, in one of the incidents, the priest sexually assaulted a boy with autism in the monastery's lounge, stopping only when he heard someone nearing the room. The victim fled to the bathroom, remaining there until assured of Cardoso's departure.
On a separate occasion, as per the indictment, the suspect sat beside the victims as they were watching television in the monastery's lounge and "briefly touched each person's private areas over their clothing."
In another incident, the priest allegedly visited the community's children to bid them farewell before returning to Brazil. According to the indictment, "D approached the accused for a goodbye hug," and "immediately afterward, while facing each other, the accused touched D's private areas over his clothing and left. Shortly thereafter, the priest sat with D outside the church's dining hall and acted inappropriately. As they engaged in conversation side by side, the accused once again touched D's private areas over his clothing."