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Gerald Ridsdale

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Gerald Francis Ridsdale (born 20 May 1934) is an Australian laicised Catholic priest and sex offender. He was convicted between 1993 and 2017 of a large number of child sexual abuse and indecent assault charges against 65 children aged as young as four years. The offences occurred from the 1960s to the 1980s while Ridsdale worked as a school chaplain at St Alipius Primary School, a boys' boarding school in the Victorian regional city of Ballarat.

Gerald Ridsdale
Born
Gerald Francis Ridsdale

(1934-05-20) 20 May 1934 (age 90)
St Arnaud, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Criminal statusIn prison
Conviction(s)
Criminal penalty
  • 12 months' custody with 3-month non-parole period
  • 18 years' custody with a 3-year non-parole period
  • 13 years' custody with a 6-year non-parole period
  • 8 years' custody

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found that senior figures in the church, including Cardinal George Pell, knew about Ridsdale's prolific sexual abuse of children but protected him.[1] Ridsdale was ordained at St Patrick's Cathedral, Ballarat, in 1961. The first complaint about his behaviour towards children was received by the church that same year.[2] Ridsdale held 16 different appointments over a period of 29 years as a priest, with an average of 1.8 years per appointment.

Career and allegations of offences

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Ridsdale was born at St Arnaud in central Victoria and grew up in Ballarat.[3] It was alleged in 2013 that Ridsdale sexually abused boys as early as 1955, when he was aged 21.[4]

Ridsdale worked at St Alipius Primary School, Ballarat, a boys' boarding school, from 1971, where he was a chaplain. He also worked in Apollo Bay in 1972–73.[3][5] At his 1994 trial it was said that he had been sent to a psychologist as early as 1971, though the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat, Ronald Mulkearns, said he had no idea of Ridsdale's actions until 1975, when the priest was in Inglewood.[3] One parent said Ridsdale had molested their son, but they were reluctant to let the boy be questioned by police, and the priest had moved.[3] When a police officer involved with the case spoke to Mulkearns, the latter promised to handle Ridsdale but moved him on instead.[3] Operation Arcadia, a three-month police investigation into what Mulkearns knew about Ridsdale, concluded that he knew about Ridsdale's crimes earlier than he admitted.[3]

Ridsdale was moved repeatedly. In 1976, he was moved to Edenhope.[3] In 1980 he was moved to the National Pastoral Institute in Elsternwick in Melbourne.[3] In 1981, he was moved to Mortlake; at the end of 1982, he was transferred to Sydney. In 1986, he was moved to Horsham, where two people made complaints about him in 1988.[3] In 1990, he was sent to New Mexico "for treatment".[3] He returned to Australia after nine months and was appointed chaplain at St John of God Hospital in Richmond, New South Wales, on the northwestern outskirts of Sydney.[3]

Convictions

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While he was working at the hospital, a victim phoned Victoria Police in November 1992, leading to Ridsdale's arrest in February 1993.[3][6] In May 1993, Ridsdale was charged on summons in the Melbourne Magistrates Court with 30 counts of indecent assault against 9 boys aged between 12 and 16 between 1974 and 1980. George Pell, then an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne, testified before the 1993 hearing that he and Ridsdale had shared a clergy house together while Pell was an assistant priest at St Alipius' Church with Ridsdale in the 1970s. Pell denied knowing about any of Ridsdale's abuse.[4] Ridsdale pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 months' jail with a non-parole period of three months. A few weeks later, in 1994, Ridsdale was again put on trial. He pleaded guilty to 46 charges of abusing 20 boys and one girl between 1961 and 1982.[3] He was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment with a minimum of 15 years, to be served cumulatively with the previous sentence.[3]

In 2006, he pleaded guilty to 35 charges relating to indecent assault against 10 boys between 1970 and 1987 in Bacchus Marsh, Ballarat, Warrnambool, Edenhope, Horsham and Mortlake.[7] He was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment with a minimum of seven years, three years of which was ordered to be served concurrently (the remainder of the previous sentence).[8] A few of his victims criticised the leniency of the sentence.[8]

In 2013, weeks before Ridsdale was eligible for parole, Ridsdale was charged with an additional 84 offences against 14 victims committed between 1961 and 1981.[9] He pleaded guilty to 29 counts (27 of indecent assault, one count of buggery and one count of carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 16) committed between 1960 and 1980 and asked for a further 27 counts to be taken into consideration at sentencing.[10] After pleading guilty to the above charges, including raping and abusing children as young as four, Ridsdale was sentenced to eight years in prison in April 2014, with the judge ordering he be eligible for parole in April 2019.[11] These charges brought the number of Ridsdale's confirmed victims to 54.[12]

On 13 April 2017, Ridsdale pleaded guilty to a further 20 offences against 10 boys and a girl. These offences were committed between 1961 and 1988 in western Victoria and were also expected to extend his release date further into the future.[13] On 15 August 2017, Ridsdale pleaded guilty to 23 charges, including two counts of rape and one of buggery, for abusing 12 children, 11 boys and 1 girl aged 6 to 13, between 1962 and 1988 in Ballarat and the surrounding area.[14][15] Ridsdale was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment, with five years cumulative. One of the victims told the court she was abused numerous times by Ridsdale, including being assaulted on the altar of a Ballarat church, while another victim said that Ridsdale abused him hundreds of times.[16] The number of known victims of Ridsdale is now 65.[17]

On 14 May 2020, a Victorian County Court Judge, Gerard Mullaly, extended Ridsdale's non-parole period, which was originally scheduled to end in 2022, by another two years to 2024.[18]

A Victorian man, known to the royal commission as 'BAQ', alleged abuse by Ridsdale in the 1970s. On 10 April 2021, 'BAQ' was given a $1.5m settlement on the eve of the matter going to trial. 'BAQ' was a pupil at St Alipius Boys' School, Ballarat where Risdale served as the school's chaplain.[19][20]

Ridsdale is serving a 36-year-jail sentence at Ararat Prison for abusing close to 70 victims.

Admissions of protection by the Diocese of Ballarat and civil lawsuit

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On 13 September 2019, the Diocese of Ballarat released a statement admitting that high-ranking clergy in the diocese knew of sex abuse claims against Ridsdale and afterwards made efforts to shield him from prosecution.[21] This confession came in the wake of a civil lawsuit filed against the diocese by one of Ridsdale's victims.[21]

Government inquiries

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In 2008, fourteen of Ridsdale's victims formed a group to lobby the Department of Justice for an independent justice commission to investigate how victims were paid varying amounts of compensation by the Catholic Church.[22] In 2012 the Parliament of Victoria established the Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations. The inquiry tabled its response[why?] to parliament on 13 November 2013 and the government tabled its response[why?] to the inquiry's recommendations on 8 May 2014.[23]

In May 2015, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse[24] began an investigation into the response of relevant Catholic Church authorities to the impact of child sexual abuse on survivors of child sexual abuse, their families and the community of Ballarat.[25] The hearing heard from residents, former students of St Joseph's Home, Ballarat, St Alipius Primary School, Ballarat East, St Alipius Parish, Ballarat East, St Patrick's College, Ballarat, and St Patrick's Christian Brothers Boys Primary School, Ballarat, and members of the Ballarat community about the impact of child sexual abuse on the community of Ballarat. Catholic clergy who were convicted of child sexual offences which took place within the geographical bounds of the Diocese of Ballarat also were invited to speak or make statements before the royal commission.[26] Ridsdale gave evidence over two days by videolink from prison, detailing his memories of his abusing.[27] David Ridsdale, a victim of child sexual abuse and the nephew of Ridsdale, gave evidence that he was sexually abused by his uncle between the ages of 11 and 15. The royal commission continued throughout most of 2017.[28][29] The commission concluded, and its report was made public, in December 2017.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found that the then bishop of the Ballarat diocese, James O'Collins, had received a complaint in the 1960s that Ridsdale had sexually abused a boy but did not take action.[30][31] The royal commission was also told that Bishop Ronald Mulkearns knew in 1975 that Ridsdale had abused boys and again did nothing to stop the abuse from occurring.[32] The commission found that "Bishop Mulkearns again was derelict in his duty in failing to take any effective action to have Ridsdale referred to police and to restrict Ridsdale's contact with children."[33] Bishop Finnigan stated that Ridsdale was moved because "there was a concern that the complaints would be made public".[34]

Paul Levey

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The royal commission heard many stories from victims, including Paul Levey who was sent to live alone with Ridsdale at the presbytery in Mortlake.[35] When Levey's parents were going through marriage problems, Ridsdale became a regular visitor to their house, offering to help. Ridsdale took Levey to White Cliffs, New South Wales, where the priest would fossick for opals and began abusing the boy. When Levey's parents divorced, Ridsdale took him, aged at age 13, to live with him in the presbytery at Mortlake. Levey said that he was "sexually abused all the time just about every day".[36] The commission heard evidence that Bishop Mulkearns was among a number of clergy who knew Ridsdale had a boy living with him but failed to intervene.[37][38] It was also found that every boy at the school in Mortlake between the age of 10 and 16 had been abused by Ridsdale.[39][40]

On 7 May 2020, it was revealed that the royal commission report found that Pell knew about the abuse committed by Ridsdale and that when he was a member of the Diocese of Ballarat's college of consultors he deliberately took part in the effort to cover it up by approving Ridsdale's transfer from the Mortlake parish near Ballarat to Sydney in 1982.[41][42] At least one of Ridsdale's victims, his nephew David Ridsdale, testified that Pell "tried to bribe" him "into keeping quiet" during a February 1983 phone conversation. Doubt was cast on how David Risdale interpreted the conversation.[42][43][41] The commission also found that Pell was sufficiently conscious of child sexual abuse by clergy by 1973 to have considered measures of avoiding situations where it might occur, such as clergy taking boys on overnight camps.[41][42]

Steve Blacker

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Previously known only by the court issued pseudonym 'JCB', Steve Blacker was raped by Ridsdale in the confessional at St Colman's Church, Mortlake, in 1982. Blacker was nine years old and Ridsdale has been abusing children in Ballarat for at least 20 years prior.[44]

In 2018, Blacker and his legal team sued the Diocese of Ballarat, stating that the diocese had known about Ridsdale's crimes for decades and breached its duty of care by moving him from parish to parish, where he sexually abused hundreds of children. Despite acknowledging they had complaints about Ridsdale dating back to 1974, the diocese fought Blacker on every point.[citation needed]

On 28 September 2019, the diocese finally admitted legal liability and settled with Blacker, paying him $1 million in compensation. This was the first time a Catholic religious authority in Australia had admitted legal liability in a child sex abuse case.[45][46]

Blacker was interviewed by Sarah Ferguson for the ABC documentary series Revelation, where he spoke publicly for the first time about his abuse at the hands of Ridsdale. His story features in the third episode of the series.[47][48]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Pell knew in 1982 that Ridsdale was being moved to keep lid on scandal". 7 May 2020.
  2. ^ Donelly, Beau; Lee, Jane (1 March 2016). "The priests and brothers who preyed on children". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Ellingsen, Peter (14 June 2002). "Ballarat's good men of the cloth". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
  4. ^ a b Devic, Aleks (29 November 2013). "Predator priest Gerald Ridsdale found victims wherever the Catholic Church moved him across Australia". Herald Sun. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  5. ^ Nolan, Kellee (3 August 2011). "Church sex abuse inquiry 'not needed'". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  6. ^ Munro, Ian (8 June 2002). "How a priest stole a boy's innocence". The Age. Melbourne.
  7. ^ "Former priest pleads guilty to child abuse". ABC News. Australia. 7 August 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  8. ^ a b Berry, Jamie (11 August 2006). "Victims slam pedophile sentence". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  9. ^ Donovan, Samantha (31 May 2014). "Paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale interviewed over new abuse claims". AM, ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  10. ^ "Paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale pleads guilty to 29 child sex offences". ABC News. Australia. 18 November 2013.
  11. ^ "Paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale sentenced to 8 years in jail for child abuse". ABC News. Australia. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Victims of paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale felt dirty, scared and confused, court told". ABC News. Australia. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  13. ^ Younger, Emma (13 April 2017). "Gerald Ridsdale, paedophile priest, pleads guilty to more sexual abuse involving 11 children in western Victoria". ABC News. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  14. ^ "Australian court hears harrowing accounts of child abuse by pedophile priest". Newsweek. 15 August 2017.
  15. ^ "Paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale abused girl on church altar, Victorian court told". the Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 15 August 2017.
  16. ^ "Paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale assaulted girl on altar, court told". ABC News. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  17. ^ Younger, Emma (31 August 2017). "Paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale gets three more years' jail for new sexual abuse cases". ABC News. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  18. ^ "Australian pedophile priest sentenced to more jail time". 14 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Gerald Ridsdale: Victorian man abused as schoolboy by paedophile priest given $1.5m settlement". TheGuardian.com. 10 April 2021.
  20. ^ "Ridsdale admits more abuse but lawyer asks for no extra jail time". 27 April 2020.
  21. ^ a b Sainsbury, Michael (13 September 2019). "New admission by diocese could cost Australian Church millions in claims". Crux Now. Catholic News Service. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  22. ^ Dunn, Mark (16 January 2008). "Sex abuse victims want inquiry". Herald Sun.
  23. ^ "Report and Response". Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations. Parliament of Victoria. 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  24. ^ "Letters Patent". Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  25. ^ "Case Study 28, May 2015, Ballarat". Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. 2015. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  26. ^ "Witness List and Possible Order of Witnesses". Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat: Case study 28. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. 21 May 2015. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  27. ^ Franklin, James, Gerald Ridsdale, pedophile priest, in his own words, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 36 (2015), 219-230.
  28. ^ Donovan, Samantha (20 May 2015). "Royal Commission hears Cardinal Pell offered victim bribe to keep clerical sex abuse quiet". PM. ABC Local Radio. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  29. ^ Lee, Jane (20 May 2015). "Royal commission told Cardinal George Pell tried to buy victim's silence about abuse". The Age. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  30. ^ "'No moral compass': Priest's abuse victim slams church over compo dispute". ABC News. 6 August 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  31. ^ "Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse: Final Report: Volume 16, Religious institutions Book 2" (PDF). Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. p. 127.
  32. ^ "Paedo Ridsdale: 'I went haywire with altar boys'". NewsComAu. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  33. ^ Wrigley, Brendan (6 December 2017). "We failed and we are sorry: church responds to scathing report". The Courier. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  34. ^ "Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse: Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat - Report of Case Study No. 28" (PDF). Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. p. 238.
  35. ^ "Clergy abuse survivor draws support for petition to defrock Pell". ABC News. 10 May 2020.
  36. ^ "New Book, the Boy in the Presbytery, Lifts the Lid on Paedophile Priest Gerald Ridsdale". Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  37. ^ "In 1980, Paul's family sent him on holidays with the local priest. His life became a nightmare". 8 May 2021.
  38. ^ Cunningham, Melissa (2 March 2016). "Abuse royal commission: George Pell must have known, says Ridsdale victim". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  39. ^ Pearlman, Jonathan (19 May 2015). "Australia's worst paedophile priest 'molested every boy' at school in Victoria". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  40. ^ "Priest abused every young boy at regional Victorian school: inquiry". ABC News. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  41. ^ a b c Le Grand, Chip (7 May 2020). "Pell knew in 1982 that Ridsdale was being moved to keep lid on scandal". The Age. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  42. ^ a b c "George Pell: Cardinal was aware of children being sexually abused, royal commission report finds". TheGuardian.com. 7 May 2020.
  43. ^ "George Pell, a former advisor to Pope Francis and Australia's most senior Catholic cleric, knew about child sex abuse within the Catholic Church for decades, report alleges". Business Insider.
  44. ^ "Stephen Blacker was raped as a 9-year-old boy in Mortlake, by his former priest Gerald Ridsdale". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 April 2020.
  45. ^ "Abuse victim receives multi-million-dollar payout from Catholic Church". 27 September 2019.
  46. ^ "Catholic Church to pay raped boy". News.com.au. 27 September 2019.
  47. ^ "The lawyers who took on the Catholic Church over Gerald Ridsdale's abuse — and won". ABC News. 8 November 2019.
  48. ^ @annabelcrabb (2 April 2020). "We should all feel a holy rage about what happened to that kid. And others. #RevelationABC" (Tweet) – via Twitter.


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