Former priest found guilty of raping 13-year-old girl who confided in him she was abused by father

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

April 27, 2018

By Elizabeth Byrne

Former Anglican priest John Philip Aitchison, 67, has been found guilty of five charges of rape and eight acts of indecency against a 13-year-old girl in Canberra in the 1980s.

Aitchison sat with his eyes closed in the ACT Supreme Court as the jury delivered their verdicts.

The victim had given graphic evidence of a series of assaults, including the first that occurred in a Canberra church after she had finished violin practice.

The woman said Aitcheson had urged her to look into the corner and pray that she might see her pet dog that had died.

She said during the assault he had repeatedly muttered “please God forgive me”.

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