AUSTRALIA
Launceston Times
LOUISE HALL
23 May, 2012
A retired Catholic priest and a one-time close personal friend of the Attorney-General, Greg Smith, has appeared in court over the alleged sexual abuse of four children in the 1970s and ’80s.
Father Finian Egan, 77, appeared in Ryde Local Court this morning to face 16 charges of indecent assault and one charge of rape while he was a priest in Sydney and the central coast.
He has not entered a plea.
He has been the subject of a police investigation that began in 2010 following complaints he abused five children 30 years ago.
A number of women went to police following media reports about previous claims made within the Catholic Church.
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