In the province of Mendoza, Argentina, a court has reversed what many considered an incomplete reckoning: the 2023 acquittal of Kumiko Kosaka, a Japanese nun accused of abusing deaf and speech-impaired children at the Provolo Institute over more than a decade. The Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza, in a ruling spanning over 200 pages, has returned her case to a lower court for sentencing, where she now faces up to 50 years in prison. This moment belongs to a longer human story about the vulnerability of those who cannot easily speak for themselves, and the slow, imperfect machinery of justic
Argentina court overturns nun's acquittal in Provolo Institute abuse case
Dozens of deaf and speech-impaired children aged 4-17 were sexually abused over 12 years at a boarding school, with multiple perpetrators convicted and one nun's acquittal now reversed.
The children told the truth, and the court acted very arbitrarily
Mark
Why did the court reverse an acquittal that had already been decided three years ago? Don't these things usually stick?
Mimi
They usually do, but this case had enough problems that a higher court felt compelled to intervene. The attorney said the lower court acted "very arbitrarily"—meaning the reasoning didn't hold up under scrutiny. Sometimes that takes time to surface.
Mark
So the children's testimony was there all along, but the first court didn't believe them?
Mimi
Or didn't weigh it properly against other evidence. These were deaf children. Communication barriers, power imbalances, institutional cover-up—all of it makes testimony harder to establish in court, even when it's truthful.
Mark
Why were the other eight women acquitted but not Kosaka? What made her case different?
Mimi
The ruling doesn't spell that out in the reporting we have. But the fact that eight others were cleared while one was convicted suggests the evidence against Kosaka was either stronger or presented differently. The court found something in her case that it didn't find in theirs.
Mark
Fifty years is a long sentence. Is that realistic, or is it just the maximum?
Mimi
It's the maximum. What the lower court actually imposes could be far less. But the fact that it's even possible now—that she's no longer acquitted—changes everything for the survivors. It's vindication, even if the final number is uncertain.
Mark
Does this reversal mean other acquittals in the Provolo case might be revisited?
Mimi
That's the open question. The court upheld the acquittals of the other eight women, so it's not a blanket reversal. But it does show the system can correct itself when it gets things wrong.
The Pulse
- For nearly a decade, children as young as four were systematically abused at a boarding school meant to shelter and educate the deaf and speech-impaired — a betrayal of profound institutional trust.
- When all nine women tried in 2023 were acquitted, survivors and advocates were left with the unsettling sense that the full truth had not been heard, and that the courts had acted, in the words of the plaintiffs' attorney, 'very arbitrarily.'
- Argentina's Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza spent more than 200 pages dismantling that acquittal, upholding the other eight women's verdicts while singling out Kosaka's case as one that demanded a different outcome.
- Kosaka, now 51, faces up to 50 years in prison as her case returns to a lower court — though no sentencing date has been set, leaving the final measure of accountability still suspended.
- The ruling is being read as a signal that institutional abuse cases, particularly those touching the Catholic Church, may face renewed scrutiny, with questions lingering about other acquittals in the broader Provolo scandal.
In the province of Mendoza, Argentina, a court has reversed what many considered an incomplete reckoning: the 2023 acquittal of Kumiko Kosaka, a Japanese nun accused of abusing deaf and speech-impaired children at the Provolo Institute over more than a decade. The Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza, in a ruling spanning over 200 pages, has returned her case to a lower court for sentencing, where she now faces up to 50 years in prison. This moment belongs to a longer human story about the vulnerability of those who cannot easily speak for themselves, and the slow, imperfect machinery of justice that sometimes — years later — finds its way back to them.
An Argentine court has overturned the 2023 acquittal of Kumiko Kosaka, a 51-year-old Japanese nun previously cleared of sexually abusing deaf children at the Provolo Institute in Mendoza. The Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza issued its ruling on Friday, returning the case to a lower court to determine sentencing. Kosaka now faces up to 50 years in prison.
The Provolo Institute was a free boarding school serving underprivileged children with hearing and speech disabilities — a setting that made its victims among the most vulnerable imaginable. Between 2004 and 2016, systematic abuse unfolded there, targeting children as young as four and as old as seventeen. Two priests were convicted in 2019 and sentenced to more than 40 years each; a gardener and an altar boy were also imprisoned for sex crimes committed at the school.
Kosaka had been tried alongside eight other female employees in 2023, and all nine were acquitted. The reversal this week — contained in a ruling of more than 200 pages — upheld the acquittals of the eight other women while finding that Kosaka's case required a different conclusion. Sergio Salinas, the attorney for the plaintiffs, called the decision a watershed moment. 'It means the children told the truth,' he said.
No sentencing date has yet been set, and the question of what punishment the lower court will impose remains open. Beyond Kosaka's individual fate, the ruling has reignited broader questions about whether Argentina's courts fully examined the evidence in the Provolo case — and whether other acquittals connected to the scandal may eventually face similar scrutiny.
In a reversal that legal advocates are calling historic, an Argentine court has overturned the 2023 acquittal of Kumiko Kosaka, a Japanese nun who had been cleared of sexually abusing deaf children at the Provolo Institute in Mendoza. The Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza province issued the decision on Friday, sending the case back to a lower court to determine her sentence. She now faces up to 50 years in prison.
Kosaka, 51, had been acquitted three years ago of charges related to her conduct at the Provolo Institute, a free boarding school serving underprivileged children with hearing and speech disabilities. The reversal represents a significant turn in a case that has haunted Argentina's Catholic Church since allegations first surfaced in 2016—a particularly fraught moment for the institution in the homeland of former Pope Francis. Sergio Salinas, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, described the ruling as a watershed moment. "It means the children told the truth," he said, "and the court acted very arbitrarily when it acquitted her."
The Provolo scandal extends far beyond Kosaka. Between 2004 and 2016, systematic abuse unfolded at the institute, targeting children as young as four years old. Two priests at the school were convicted and sentenced to more than 40 years each in 2019 for sexual abuse and rape of approximately 20 minors. A school gardener and an altar boy were also prosecuted and imprisoned for sex crimes. The victims ranged in age from four to 17.
Kosaka had been charged with aggravated sexual abuse and covering up crimes. Eight other female employees of the school, including another nun, faced criminal charges alongside her at the 2023 trial. All nine women were acquitted at that time. In its decision this week—a document spanning more than 200 pages—the Mendoza court upheld the acquittals of the eight other women while reversing Kosaka's. No sentencing date has yet been set.
The reversal signals a potential reopening of questions about institutional accountability in one of Argentina's most damaging abuse cases. While multiple perpetrators have already been convicted and imprisoned, the initial acquittals of the women charged raised questions about how thoroughly the courts had examined the evidence. Now, with Kosaka's case returning to a lower court for sentencing, the legal process enters a new and uncertain phase. The question of what punishment fits the crimes—and whether the lower court will impose the maximum 50-year sentence or something less—remains unanswered.
Notable Quotes
It means the children told the truth and the court acted very arbitrarily when it acquitted her.— Sergio Salinas, plaintiffs' attorney
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