They are calling for an investigation into the suicide of a former student of Father Manyanet of Les Corts, amid "new evidence" of sexual abuse.

BarcelonaOscar García's family has asked the Department of Education to investigate his suicide in 2019, when he was 21 years old, in light of "new evidence" that he may have suffered sexual abuse at the Padre Manyanet School in Les Corts, where he studied until completing secondary school. The new information refers to the priest J. Calvet, who was his teacher for two years and whom Oscar's family considers the "prime suspect." Calvet was convicted in 2023 for possession of child pornography after being reported by a computer scientist at the Manyanet School in Sant Andreu, where he later taught. He is now under investigation again for allegedly abusing an 8-year-old student with disabilities at the school in 2016. ~BK_SLT_NA Oscar in demanding an investigation into whether his son's death was related to the priest's abuse. They see similarities between what this victim alleges and the attitude they remember from his son, who refused to attend the religion classes taught by Calvet. Sources from the department consulted by ARAThey indicate that they are aware of the family's request and that, in order to assess it, they are "gathering all available information." Therefore, they have asked the Barcelona Education Consortium to send them all documentation related to the case so they can analyze it. The same sources from the department predict that "it will not be a short process" and, therefore, the response could take time.

The Barcelona Education Consortium admits to ARA that they have received the request from Oscar's family, although they emphasize that it is a case that "at the time" was already brought to court: "It is up to the Mossos d'Esquadra to determine if there are grounds to review it," explain sources from the public body. They also explain that on December 4, 2021, Oscar's father filed a complaint with the Consortium and the Education Inspectorate, which was forwarded to the Mossos d'Esquadra force on December 17, 2021. "The subsequent actions of the educational administration to clarify the facts that were the subject of facts that urged the initiation of new actions," they assure.

Another attempt

Oscar's parents have submitted notes from their son's tutor that they believe should prompt the Education Ministry to review whether abuse at school was the reason for his suicide. The family explains that they have recovered a report from the teacher when he was 6 years old, specifically a diary with days filled with notes warning that Oscar had cried during school hours. They have also provided a letter in which the teacher warned that their son "cries three or four times a day" and, worried, asked the parents about possible reasons.

"We have many clues and suspicions, but there are no direct witnesses, nor can we have Oscar's witness," laments his father, José María, in an interview with AHORA. Among all the pedophile material the police seized in Calvet, not a single image of his son was discovered. Therefore, the family's expectations now focus on the Generalitat's Education Inspectorate investigating whether he was abused by the priest before committing suicide.

This isn't the family's first attempt to clarify what led their son to take his own life. News of several cases of sexual abuse within the same religious congregation made them question whether their son had experienced the same abuse. After initially filing a complaint with the Education Department that went unanswered, the family turned to the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman called for a "comprehensive investigation."

In a February 2023 resolution, the Ombudsman called on the Department of Education to respond to the family's complaint and open a "comprehensive investigation" involving a specialized external entity. This request extended beyond Oscar's case: two months after his suicide, a student at the Padre Manyanet School in Sant Andreu, Kira López, also committed suicide. In response, the Ombudsman called for a "thorough" review of the protocols and regulations of the two schools in that congregation.

In fact, Kira's death will go to trial in a procedure in which the family –who has always maintained that he committed suicide because of the bullying he suffered at school– is demanding compensation from the center, while the school denies any negligence or inaction and has filed a complaint against the student's parents for alleged slander and libel linking the suicide to bullying.

"The common denominator is that the order does not want to recognize it and threatens the families," criticizes Oscar García's father, referring to the case of Kira López. the reprisals against the computer scientist who reported it The pornography found on Calvet's computer. The García family laments in statements to ARA that, despite the Ombudsman's 2023 resolution calling for an investigation into the case, and although representatives from the Education Department have expressed their commitment to review it, there has still been no progress.

Regarding the Padre Manyanet center in Sant Andreu, the Consortium indicates that there have already been court rulings and that the Barcelona Court of Appeals closed the case in February 2023: "The Consortium and the Department of Education are available to official bodies to carry out further actions within their jurisdiction, if requested."