Judge's gavel in courtroom - (Photo: Courtesy).

A Catholic priest previously convicted for sexually assaulting two altar boys in Aweil West County has been released after the Court of Appeal found insufficient evident against him upon review of the case details and procedural records.

In April 2024, a high court in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State found 30-year-old clergy Cletus Grush guilty of the crimes and convicted him to 14 years in prison.

Grush was arrested on the 29^th February 2024 on accusations that he sodomized two altar boys, aged 11 and 13 years respectively. He was said to have committed the offence at the Saint Theresa Parish on February 23, 2024.

But one of his defense lawyers, Andrew Muor Atak, said his client was released last week after the Court of Appeal in Greater Bahr el Ghazal found no sufficient evidence to keep him in jail.

The review of the papers, according to Muor, prompted the court to order for the release of Fr. Grush.

“The priest was released last week according to the orders of the Court of Appeal. He was released after the verdict was reached before the Court of Appeal,” he said in an interview with Eye Radio.

“After the Court of Appeal went through the case papers and found out the procedures that were made and actually found that the priest is not guilty and ordered for his release.”

Following the priest’s sentencing, the defense lawyer told Eye Radio in April that while he respected the verdict, his client was not cross-examined before the decision.

Advocate Muor said the prosecutors did not produce any eyewitness before the court to testify to the allegations and criticized the court for using his client’s confession in police as a basis to convict the man of God.

“I have my observation and will appeal against the verdict before the end of 14 days. The doctor was not summoned to court for cross-examining and all the evidence brought against my client in the court is just an allegation. There was no eye witness.”