Chile: civil court finds the Salesian order followed a 'systematic and institutional pattern' enabling sexual abuse of students across six cities, orders damages to nine survivors

Proceedings

1. 2026-07-14 · civil judgment against the institution

   Séptimo Juzgado Civil de Santiago (Seventh Civil Court of Santiago), Chile. On 14 July 2026 Judge Diego Portilla Silva of the Seventh Civil Court of Santiago found the Salesian Congregation civilly liable for a 'systematic and institutional pattern' of structural deficiencies that enabled repeated sexual abuse of students at Salesian schools in Putaendo, Santiago, Talca, Concepción, Valdivia and Punta Arenas. The ruling covered nine former students and ordered a total of 325 million pesos in damages: five victims awarded 50 million pesos each, two awarded 30 million pesos each, one awarded 15 million pesos, and one awarded no damages. The court explicitly rejected the Congregation's internal canonical investigations as an adequate legal response to crimes affecting fundamental rights, and found the order used mechanisms like priestly dispensations to remove accused priests quietly rather than report them.

Documented coercion mechanisms

• clerical and educational authority over students at Salesian-run schools in six Chilean cities
• institutional practice, per the court's finding, of using internal mechanisms such as priestly dispensations to quietly remove accused abusers rather than report them to civil authorities, prioritizing institutional image over child protection