Court Hears Extracts of Priest’s Letter to Boy

By Courtney Garnham
Maitland Herald
May 18, 2012

http://www.maitlandmercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/court-hears-extracts-of-priests-letter-to-boy/2560428.aspx

Extracts of intimate letters written by a Hunter priest to one of his alleged child sexual assault victims were revealed to a Sydney District Court jury on Thursday.

The priest, who is on trial for eight child sex offences against four complainants, referred to the boy in one letter as his “special little man”.

He wrote: “I miss you a lot and remember you in my prayers, so don’t forget me in yours,” and signed off with “lots of love.”

The alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the priest’s barrister he had never replied to the letters he received from the priest and never asked for or encouraged the letters.

He told the court he received the letters some time after an “incident” with the priest while they were wrestling in a building near the church grounds.

The alleged victim said he knew what was happening during the incident and made sure he was never alone with the priest again.

“I was embarrassed and humiliated about what had occurred with [the accused],” he said. “It changed my relationship with [the accused] after that. I didn’t want to be alone with him [again] and I never was.

“When I was with my friends as a group, I felt safe [but] I didn’t feel the same about him; I felt uncomfortable.”

The alleged victim said he was in year 4 or 5 at the time.

He and his group of mates would play regularly at the church grounds after school and on weekends.

The alleged victim told the court he was being cheeky to the accused that day and it resulted in a wrestle where the accused got him in a “bear hug” on the ground. The accused then allegedly became very still and the boy felt uncomfortable when he felt something hard against his back.

There were about four or five other boys there at the time and they all jumped on top of the accused in a “stacks on rumble”.

The accused’s barrister suggested the victim couldn’t be sure about what he thought he felt.

“This object could have been something else, couldn’t it?” he asked, referring to what the alleged victim claimed to have felt pressing into him while they were wrestling.

“It could have been a pocket knife or a torch or something of that nature.”

The trial continues.