Dying Anglican Priest Has 2001 Charges Reinstated
By Giselle Wakatama
A former Hunter priest who ended up having child abuse charges withdrawn has had charges reinstated and more laid, but is expected to die ahead of court proceedings. During a recent royal commission hearing into Newcastle's Anglican Diocese, abuse survivor CKA said he was abused by a priest known as CKC. CKA told the commission he was an altar boy between 1971 and 1975 when he was sexually abused. He said CKC once told him: "This is our special secret — remember how good a friend father CKC is". CKA told the commission: "At the time I didn't think I could disclose CKC's secret because no-one would believe me". When he finally told his mother about the abuse, she went to the then Bishop Ian Shevill but said the Bishop was "dismissive". "This realisation was one of the main contributors to my breakdown [at 20 years of age]," CKA said. CKA also told the hearings he was horrified when CKC ended up presiding over his mother's funeral. "It upset me greatly that the church degraded our family by allowing CKC to officiate at our funeral, knowing what CKC had done to me," CKA said. Case against CKC 'no billed' in 2001 A trial against CKC started in September 2001. The 2001 indictment said that CKC was charged with intent, wickedly, and against the order of nature, to commit the abominable crime of buggery. CKA's brother CKB was also an alleged victim. The indictment said that CKC indecently assaulted CKB during the same period. But the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions decided not to pursue the case, when CKC's defence team produced a register showing the abuse could not have happened when CKA said it did. In legal terms the case was "no billed", but a prosecution like that can be brought back before the court if there is further evidence to support it. Strike force detectives pounce after years of investigating The ABC can now reveal four charges have been reinstated, as indicated by the commission. A further 20 charges have also been laid. CKC has been charged by detectives from the Newcastle-based Strike Force Arinya-2. The taskforce was set up in 2014 to investigate the alleged abuse, involving multiple victims of Hunter Valley Anglican priests over several decades. They travelled to Ballarat to charge CKC. But CKC is unlikely to be dealt with by a court, as he has terminal cancer and it is understood he may only have weeks to live. The former Anglican Bishop of Ballarat Michael Hough has previously told the ABC he was not surprised CKC was accepted into the diocese in the late 1990s, despite an alleged history of child sexual offences in Newcastle. CKC moved to Ballarat in 1996. Perth's Anglican Archbishop Roger Herft was the Bishop of Newcastle at the time. Archbishop Herft is set to retire a year earlier, in the wake of the royal commission hearings. During evidence, Archbishop Herft said that he did not tell Ballarat clergy there were child sex abuse allegations pending against CKC. Micheal Hough was Ballarat's Anglican Bishop from 2002 to 2010. He had this response, when asked by the ABC about CKC's move to Ballarat: "Very often you just simply went on the word of the Bishop". "And the expression they used is they were always suspicious about having a dead cat thrown over the fence," he said. Alleged victim CKA praises investigating police CKA said he was thrilled that charges have been reinstated. "Oh, vindication is really not the word. I can't believe it after all these years," he said. It's restored my faith in the criminal justice system, I can say that much. "It has been the focus of my entire life since I was a young boy. "It is really hard to describe the impact that it has on people. "It is a recognition by the state that myself and other victims have been believed." CKA has also applauded police from Strike Force Arinya-2. "I would also like to add my personal thanks to the team at NSW Police, particularly the Newcastle guys who ran this investigation," he said. "Their efforts have been tireless and I can't speak highly enough of them. "I am a bit lost for words at the moment, I am quite overwhelmed by the impact the royal commission and now this news has had on us after so many years of struggle and trying to be heard." A statement from the Diocese of Newcastle read: "We have learnt today that police have instigated criminal proceedings against a former priest of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle in relation to allegations of historical child sexual abuse." "The Diocese continues to cooperate fully with NSW Police and the Royal Commission. "The Diocese is unable to comment further at this time."
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