AUSTRALIA
The Standard
PETER COLLINS
14 Apr, 2012
A NIGHT out at the local Catholic presbytery left mental scars that haunted Peter Watson to his death.
He died aged of 24 after spiralling into a pattern of self-destructive behaviour of alcohol and drugs shortly after leaving secondary school.
Yesterday his mother, Helen Watson of Ballarat, told The Standard how her son had been a normal fun-loving boy growing up in a farming community until his life was scarred by events at the Ararat Catholic presbytery when he was 15.
Local parish priest Father Paul David Ryan had invited some boys to an evening of cars, a blue movie and alcohol. Court evidence later revealed the priest had sexually abused the boys.
Ms Watson’s evidence assisted Warrnambool’s Detective Senior Constable Colin Ryan in bringing charges against Ryan, who was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to 18 months’ jail. “Peter has been a normal young boy growing up, but after the abuse was a different person,” his mother said.
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