Mexico extradites ex-priest accused of child abuse to Costa Rica

Former Costa Rican priest Mauricio Víquez, accused of sexual abuse of minors, was handed over Thursday by Mexico to Costa Rican authorities, the Mexican attorney general’s office reported.

Víquez, who had been detained in Mexico since 2019, was handed over in extradition “to be prosecuted for his probable responsibility in the crimes of qualified rape, sexual abuse, aggravated corruption and dissemination of pornography to the detriment of underage victims,” ​​the prosecution said in a statement.

The former priest was arrested in August 2019 in San Nicolás de los Garza, in the metropolitan area of ​​Monterrey, the third-largest city in Mexico.

The capture of Víquez occurred after two of the alleged victims of the abuses traveled to Mexico to request support from the public in that country.

Víquez was located in January 2019 after arriving in Mexico and creating a Facebook page using his middle name, Antonio. He intended to offer students advisory services in the preparation of theses, a role he had held in Costa Rica.

The ex-priest, who was expelled from the clergy, had fled Costa Rica because a complaint against him still had criminal repercussions.