Inquiry: Priest Tells of Victim's Drunken Outburst

By Ian Kirkwood
Newcastle Herald
July 29, 2013

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1668491/inquiry-priest-tells-of-victims-drunken-outburst/?cs=305

Father Robert Searle outside the inquiry on Monday.

Former Nelson Bay parish priest father Robert Searle says the only thing he can remember Jim Fletcher victim AH saying in a drunken outburst was that nobody loved him.

Father Searle was giving evidence on Monday morning at the special commission of inquiry sitting in Newcastle.

In earlier evidence from whistleblowing police officer Peter Fox the commission has heard evidence that AH was yelling about the weird sexual things that priests did to children.

AH's drunken outburst took place in 1998 and a statement that Father Searle gave to police was made during the Fletcher investigation in 2003.

Asked by counsel for Mr Fox, Greg Willis, whether he had held back any detail in his statement Father Searle said he had not.

Father Searle said he had rung AH's father, BI, on the night of the incident but denied a phone call to AH's mother, BJ.

Father Searle was asked whether he was ever concerned that AH's outburst may have been aimed at him.

"I never had that concern," Father Searle said.

He agreed that he had a very good recall of events in 1998 and 2003.

He accepted that AH would have said other things beyond "nobody loves me" but he said the rest of AH's outburst was "unintelligible".

Father Searle has been excused from giving further evidence and the inquiry continues.