According to El Correo de Andalucía, the Gerena City Council (Seville) has decided to withdraw the award granted to journalist and priest Antonio Pelayo, Rome correspondent for Antena 3 Noticias and a regular figure in ecclesiastical journalism, after it became known that the Rome Prosecutor’s Office has accused him of an alleged sexual assault offense.
The Andalusian newspaper details that the jury of the XXV Manuel Alonso Vicedo Communication Awards adopted the decision unanimously and notified the withdrawal of the recognition to the interested party. From the consistory, it has been specified that, once the judicial procedure in Italy is finalized, a new pronouncement will be issued. The withdrawal of the award does not imply a prior conviction, but a precautionary measure while the Italian justice clarifies the facts.
The judicial procedure in Rome
The accusation against Pelayo has been filed by the Roman Prosecutor’s Office and keeps an investigation open on the facts. Although the details of the case have not been disclosed, the news has caused a notable impact both in Spanish media and in the ecclesiastical environment, as it involves a priest with a long career as a Vatican correspondent and collaborator in various religious publications.
The Gerena City Council has stated that its decision responds “to a principle of institutional prudence and respect for justice”, and that the development of judicial events will be determinant for any future resolution.
The award ceremony is maintained
The awarding of the Manuel Alonso Vicedo Communication Awards is maintained for next November 7, with the attendance of the other two awardees: the journalist Àngels Barceló (Cadena SER) and the photojournalist Emilio Morenatti (Associated Press).
These awards, promoted by the Gerena City Council, pay homage to Manuel Alonso Vicedo, Sevillian journalist, director of Radio Sevilla (Cadena SER) and four-time winner of the Ondas Award, who died prematurely at 33 years old in a traffic accident.
The jury of this XXV edition is composed —according to El Correo de Andalucía— of representatives from the Seville Press Association, the Association for the Progress of Communication, the Association of Advertising Companies of Seville, in addition to journalists from various fields, the Seville Provincial Council, the Cobre Las Cruces Foundation —sponsor of the contest— and the Gerena City Council.