Fresh Claims of Child Abuse Will Keep Catholic Priest Gerald Risdale behind Bars
By Erin Marie
ONE of Australia?s most notorious paedophiles - Catholic priest Gerald Risdale - will not walk free from prison later this month after fresh child abuse claims emerged. The serial child rapist had applied to be granted parole on June 29 - the earliest possible date - but a Victoria Police probe triggered by new allegations of abuse has indefinitely delayed his release. In March the Herald Sun revealed Risdale, who is serving a maximum 13-year sentence after he was convicted of raping or molesting 30 children between the 1960s and 1987, could have been released this month despite his jail sentence expiring in 2019. His application for parole was rejected by the Adult Parole Board earlier this month after more people spoke out on allegations of abuse, causing a new investigation. Despite considering Risdale’s bid for freedom, the Adult Parole Board ruled to defer any decision until receiving the outcome of Victoria Police’s probe. A spokesman for The Adult Parole Board confirmed people power had indefinitely delayed the 79-year-old’s release from Ararat Prision, telling the Herald Sun the board had become aware of the new abuse allegations on June 3. He said Risdale’s application would not be reviewed while he was under further investigation for outstanding matters with Victoria Police. A rescheduled date was yet to be fixed with the board pending the outcome of the investigation. Officers quizzed Risdale earlier this month on the further child abuse allegations, which also dated back to the early 1960s. The Herald Sun understands no charges have been laid as a result of the investigation. It comes after it emerged the Catholic priest could be freed this month and was being urged to reveal how the church helped cover up his illegal activities. His victims say he should give evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. "If he started to talk about what he knew, the Catholic Church house of cards would come tumbling down," one of Risdale's victims said. Evidence of a church cover-up emerged at Ridsdale's 1994 plea hearing. Witnesses explained how he was moved from one parish to another when claims of abuse were raised. Ridsdale was one of the priests who preyed on children at Ballarat's St Alipius school. Another man, Brother Edward Dowlan, is the subject of a police investigation into up to 12 more abuse complaints. He was jailed for 6 1/2 years in 1996 for abusing 11 children, and is believed to be living in suburban Melbourne. Court documents suggest Ridsdale has good prospects for parole because he has demonstrated remorse. A final assessment will be presented to the Adult Parole Board in May when it meets to decide on Ridsdale's fate. The board can impose special parole conditions on serious offenders, such as ordering them to live in designated housing and denying them unsupervised contact with children. Meanwhile, laws that would empower the board to force certain parolees to wear electronic monitoring devices have not yet begun, despite Corrections Minister Andrew McIntosh expecting they will be in force this month. However, there are concerns a new GPS monitoring system - promised by the Coalition before the 2010 election - may not be in place in time. “Corrections Victoria is currently undertaking a tender process for the procurement of electronic monitoring devices,'' a spokesman for the minister said. Ridsdale received a maximum sentence of 25 years, meaning he could be kept behind bars until 2019. The federal royal commission is expected to call for submissions soon.
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