"Lute" Reappears in Chiclayo with Personal Friend of Leo XIV
Three women accuse Lute of sexually abusing them when they were minors, between the ages of nine and eleven. He allegedly took them to a rural mountain area, undressed in front of them, and engaged in sexual touching.
Lute has admitted to these “sins” but has tried to minimize them by claiming that there was no penetration.
Rev Edward Tocto is a canon lawyer and served as the defense attorney of Lute. He is also a personal friend of Leo XIV.
Unresolved Legal Case
Leo XIV seemingly covered for Lute. As Bishop in Chiclayo, he did NOT suspend him from ministry despite the credible accusations. Vásquez was merely transferred and prohibited from hearing confessions.
Then, the judicial case remained largely stalled for years.
The girls went to the press and demanded an ecclesiastical trial. In October 2025, Leo XIV dispensed the pedophile priest from the clerical state at his request, avoiding a trial and a guilty verdict. The victims had pleaded with the pope not to do so.
The recent photo shows the defense lawyer celebrating publicly with the pedophile priest in a festive setting, as if nothing had happened.
Network of Personal and Ecclesiastical Connections
There is more: Lute’s defense lawyer Rev Tocto is also part of Prevost’s personal friends.
In February 2015, when Prevost was Bishop of Chiclayo, he reportedly drove from Madrid to Pamplona and back in one day (800 kilometers) to visit Tocto at the University of Navarra. The occasion was Tocto's birthday.
Furthermore, Rev Tocto told Spanish radio COPE an incident in Rome in 2023, when Prevost was made a cardinal. Tocto arrived in Rome without a place to stay and encountered Prevost near St. Peter’s Square.
Cardinal Prevost recognized him immediately. He embraced him and arranged a place for him to stay.
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