AUSTRALIA
The Standard
PETER COLLINS
14 Apr, 2012
South-west Victorian men are among those who committed suicide because of Catholic clergy sexual abuse.
Confidential police reports listing at least 40 suicides of abuse victims across the state are believed to be only a fraction of the total tragic toll.
Premier Ted Baillieu yesterday hinted he may call for a full inquiry into the abuses, which occurred across the state for decades, and Victoria Police is preparing a brief for the coroner on links between suicides and abuses.
Reports by a Ballarat detective, highlighted this week in The Age newspaper, said investigators discovered “an inordinate number of suicides which appear to be a consequence of sexual offending”.
Convicted former priests Gerald Ridsdale, Bryan Coffey and Paul Ryan and former CBC brother Robert Best all served in the south-west.
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