David Joseph Perrett to stand trial on historical sex abuse charges

TENTERFIELD (NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA)
Tenterfield Star

February 24, 2020

By Laurie Bullock

A former Catholic priest, accused of sexually abusing or molesting children while he was working in the New England region, will face trial early next year.

David Joseph Perrett appeared in Armidale District Court on Friday morning where a trial date was set down for two weeks, from January 18, 2021.

But the court head the trial could be as long as four weeks, with hearing days to only run for three or four hours due to Perrett’s poor health.

Perrett had been facing charges in relation to 37 separate complainants, but his defence counsel requested the case be reduced to three or four complainants and be heard before a judge alone rather than a jury.

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