Child Sex Abuse Royal Commission: Hunter Paedophile Priest "Was like Jekyll and Hyde"
By David Marchese
A child sexual abuse survivor has broken down while recounting to a royal commission how he was repeatedly molested by a New South Wales priest who "was like Jekyll and Hyde" and warned him "nobody will believe you because I am a priest". The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse this morning shifted its focus to the Hunter region's Catholic church, after spending weeks probing Newcastle's Anglican diocese. The first witness to give evidence at the hearing was child abuse survivor Gerard McDonald, who detailed his abuse at the hands of convicted paedophile priest Vincent Ryan. Ryan was released from jail in 2010 after serving a 14-year prison sentence for a string of sexual assaults on dozens of boys between 1972 and 1991 and is currently awaiting sentencing on separate offences. Mr McDonald told the commission he was abused by Ryan twice a week for a year, while he was an altar boy in Newcastle in 1975. He said Ryan would perform oral sex on him and force him to reciprocate, before asking "does that feel good?" Now 52, Mr McDonald said Ryan tried to anally rape him in front of a group of boys, after telling the boys to penetrate each other. Mr McDonald described how Ryan would take his glasses off before abusing him in his car out the front of Mr McDonald's house. "He became intense, focused and very, very scary. It was like Jekyll and Hyde." "I came to dread him taking his glasses off," he said. Mr McDonald said Ryan told him not to tell anyone about the abuse, warning him "they won't believe you because I am a priest". Priest admitted guilt decades before being charged The commission heard evidence from Sister Evelyn Woodward, who was behind a push to get Ryan "away from the children" in the 1970s and have him sent to Melbourne to be "cured" by a psychologist. Sister Evelyn said a former senior Hunter Catholic figure, Monsignor Patrick Cotter, later told her that Ryan had admitted he had molested children at the time. "Father Ryan knelt at his feet and told him he was guilty," she said. Police were not made aware of the 1975 assaults until 1995. Another St Joseph's Sister, Margaret-Ann Geatches, said she was made aware of Ryan sexually abusing children but did not believe child molestation was a crime. She was pursued by the commission chair, Justice Peter McClellan: Justice McClellan: If a man sexually assaulted a young girl in a school, would you see that as a crime back then? Sister Margaret-Ann: Yes I would Justice McClellan: Why didn't you see a man sexually assaulting a boy as a crime? Sister Margaret-Ann: I just think that we weren't informed enough. Catholic church paid out millions to abuse survivors
Earlier today, the royal commission heard more than 150 complaints of child sexual abuse have been substantiated in the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic diocese to date. In his opening address, counsel assisting the commission, Stephen Free, said 158 claims of child sexual abuse with the Maitland-Newcastle diocese have been substantiated, involving 31 perpetrators. "There is a long and disturbing history of suffering by children in the diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, inflicted by diocesan priests and members of religious orders." Mr Free said the diocese had paid out $25.7 million in compensation to complainants. Almost $6 million has been paid to victims of Vince Ryan, including one claim which resulted in a payment of $2.9 million. "I expect there will be evidence in this case study which exposes striking similarities between the events that unfolded within the Catholic church in different geographical regions, across similar historical periods," Mr Free said. Ahead of the hearing, the current Bishop of the Maitland-Newcastle diocese, Bill Wright, released a video statement. Bishop Wright said the diocese was likely to be "seriously criticised" about its handling of abuse, warning some evidence would "disturbing" and "confronting". The hearing is expected to continue for two weeks.
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