Aussie Priest, Who Fled to Malaysia, Reportedly Seeking "Young Asian Men"

Asia One
February 10, 2016

http://news.asiaone.com/news/malaysia/aussie-priest-who-fled-malaysia-reportedly-seeking-young-asian-men

On a Planetromeo profile, Father Grasby (shown in an Internet screengrab) is described as a 66-year-old Catholic who 'happens to like younger Asian men'.

An Australian Catholic priest who was accused of child sexual abuse has moved to Malaysia, where he is reported to be seeking the friendship of young Asian men on a gay dating website.

Sydney Morning Herald today (Feb 10) reported that Father Peter Grasby, who was suspected of abusing boys from at least two Melbourne parishes during his almost 40 years as a priest, left Australia for Kuching in East Malaysia's Sarawak state last month.

Father Grasby was also alleged to have propositioned a former parisher on a gay dating website, reported the news site.

Father Grasby reportedly describes himself as a 66-year-old Catholic who "happens to like younger Asian men" aged from 18 to 35 in his profile on gay dating website Planetromeo. But he is not looking for sex, because he is "getting a bit too old", according to the profile.

He also describes himself as a "well educated and really soft-hearted mature GWM (gay white male)".

Father Grasby, the former parish priest of St Mary Magdalen in Jordanville, near Chadstone, was placed on administrative leave from his position in 2012 when he was accused of abusing a boy in another parish more than three decades ago.

He was also accused in a Victorian parliamentary inquiry of allowing boys to sleep in his former presbytery at St Michael's in North Melbourne. The inquiry revealed he also surrounded himself with a "concerning number" of young Vietnamese boys at St Mary Magdalen.

The case of Father Grasby has raised questions about how the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne handles sexual abuse complaints, and why it allows suspected serial offenders to go free on paid leave without any supervision, reported Sydney Morning Herald. It seems Father Grasby has been rather popular on Planetromeo, with his profile showing it had been visited about 7,900 times, it noted.

A former parishioner at St Mary Magdalen said he was stunned when he was contacted by Father Grasby on Planetromeo before the priest left Melbourne.