AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites
By a Broken Rites researcher (article updated 25 July 2014)
The Catholic Bishop of the Australian Defence Force appeared in court on 25 July 2014, charged by police with a child-sex offence dating back to 1969. Bishop Max Davis, now 68, is believed to be the most senior Catholic clergyman (and the first bishop) to be charged by Australian police with a child-sex offence.
In the Perth District Court, West Australian Police alleged that Max Leroy Davis indecently dealt with a 13-year-old boy while teaching at St Benedict’s College in New Norcia, north of Perth, W.A., in 1969.
Davis is charged with three counts of unlawfully and indecently dealing with a child aged under 14.
At the time of the alleged abuse, in 1969, Davis was preparing for the priesthood but had not yet reached the stage of being formally ordained.
In court, Davis’s lawyer indicated that his client will plead not guilty to the three charges. The lawyer indicated that the charges would ultimately need to be dealt with by a judge in a higher court, the West Australian District Court.
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