AUSTRALIA
Daily Telegraph
ANTHONY DE CEGLIE, The Daily Telegraph
July 1, 2016
A THIEVING alcoholic priest accused of molesting orphaned teenage boys can work with children again after winning an appeal against a Working With Children Check (WWCC) lifetime ban.
Family and Community Services Minister Brad Hazzard slammed the decision as “extremely concerning”.
Mr Hazzard told The Saturday Telegraph he was “calling on the Catholic Church to reconsider the man’s involvement in pastoral activities”.
“(It should) do what it probably should have done years ago by erring on the side of protecting our kids and not the former priest,” he said.
The case has also exposed how potential predators can work for months while their applications are assessed.
The 68-year-old former priest, known only as “BQC” in court, was banned from working with children by the Children’s Guardian in April 2014 after an investigation discovered “sustained” historical workplace allegations he had sexually abused two teenage Aboriginal siblings. One was a ward of the state.
The alleged conduct involved genitalia fondling and masturbation.
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