Knežević: The motive for filing criminal charges against the MCP priest is the intolerance of his ex-wife

"The motive for filing a criminal complaint against the priest of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral (MCP) B. Ć. is solely the intolerance of my ex-wife towards my client, who in the complaint in question stated untruths about him with the ultimate goal of damaging his reputation as a priest in society, and in addition to completely depriving him of the exercise of parental rights," said attorney Tomica Knežević, B. Ć.'s defense attorney.

Yesterday, the police in Cetinje arrested B. Ć. (48), who is suspected of sexually abusing two minors.

"I am submitting a statement regarding the statement of the Police Directorate regarding the deprivation of liberty of B. Ć., suspected of sexual abuse against two minors. As this case has been covered in the media, emphasizing the fact that my client is a priest of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, as his defense attorney, I believe that the public, due to the specific nature of the criminal offense he is charged with, must have a complete picture of the incident so that my client, despite the presumption of innocence, would not be labeled in advance by the media and society. B. Ć. was deprived of liberty on December 23, 2025 due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that he committed the criminal offense of sexual abuse against two minors. After being questioned before the competent prosecutor and the investigating judge of the Basic Court in Cetinje, he was released with the imposed supervision measures of a ban on access to and meetings with children, and a ban on leaving the place of residence," Knežević emphasized in the statement.

He added that the criminal complaint against B. Ć. was filed by his ex-wife, and that their minor children were the victims.

"The motive for filing this report is solely the intolerance of my ex-wife towards my client, who in the report in question stated untruths about him with the ultimate goal of damaging his reputation as a clergyman in society, and in addition to completely depriving him of the exercise of parental rights. His ex-wife continuously abuses the judicial system, and what is even worse, her own children, in a personal showdown with my client, so this is only the latest in a series of reports by the ex-wife against him which, I am sure, will suffer the same fate as the previous ones which were dismissed because in this specific case there is no question of sexual harassment of children. I would also like to emphasize that in one of these proceedings, a few months ago, a report and opinion was prepared by the Centre for Social Work of the Royal Capital of Cetinje, which, among other things, stated that the children behaved freely and spontaneously in the presence of their father, and that they did not show any signs of fear or discomfort, which further indicates that there are no elements of any kind in the relationship between my client and the children. "offensive, humiliating or any other form of negative behavior that could leave a mark on the behavior or psyche of children," said Knežević.

He also said that he must emphasize that his client "has not wanted to initiate any legal mechanism against his ex-wife so far, precisely out of respect for her and the sanctity of the family and mother, not wanting to expose the children to negative situations in any way, but in this case, false reports and abuse of institutions for the sake of personal scores must really be put to an end."