Jail for child camp molester
A court in Athens yesterday handed down a 25-year jail sentence to the deputy head of the City of Athens children’s camps in the suburb of Aghios Andreas after finding him guilty of abusing and misleading eight boys under the age of 15. Giorgos Pavlopoulos apparently paid his victims and gave them gifts to entice them, the court heard. The former municipal official admitted to engaging in indecent acts with the children but insisted that it was «just a game.» «What I did was bad but cannot be considered to be abuse,» he said. «I had their consent… I had no intention of harming the children.» Pavlopoulos abused his victims between 2004 and 2006, the court heard during a weeklong trial that was held behind closed doors. Authorities are also investigating whether any other municipal officials should stand trial for possible negligence.
