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Former ADF Catholic bishop Max Davis 'abused boys under pretence of medical exam'
By Pamela Medlen
The former head of the Australian Defence Force's Catholic diocese allegedly abused five students under the pretence of giving them medical examinations, a charge he denies, a Perth court has heard. Max Davis is accused of six counts of indecent dealings with male children between 1969 and 1972 when he worked at a St Benedict's College in New Norcia. The prosecution alleges Davis performed indecent acts on five students aged between 13 and 15 years old. One of the alleged victims told the court he had gone to the school infirmary with a sore stomach and that Davis prodded his abdomen before grabbing his genitals. In his opening statement, Davis' defence lawyer said he would not dispute the men had been sexually abused while at the college. However, he told the jury there were two other religious men who were known to have been involved in inappropriate behaviour with boys, and that the victims could have mistaken them for Davis. Defence lawyer Seamus Rafferty told the jury that Davis was the bishop for the armed forces for 12 years, but had stood down from the role after the allegations surfaced. He said Davis had always found this kind of conduct "utterly abhorrent". Mr Rafferty told the jury that Davis was approached by several Year 12 students in 1971, who told him one of the brothers at the college had been behaving inappropriately. He said Davis had taken that information straight to the abbot, and the brother had been immediately replaced. Mr Rafferty told the jury it was likely some of the indecent acts against the victims could have been done by the brother, not Davis. The brother is now dead. The trial has been set down for seven days.
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