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	Fourth Hunter Priest on Child Sex Charges ABC News February 5, 2009 http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/05/2483659.htm?section=justin The Catholic Church has been rocked by more claims of alleged child sex abuse, with a fourth Hunter Valley priest charged today by a police taskforce. Father David O'Hearn, 47, who was suspended from active ministry in May last year, has been charged with seven child sex offences at Cessnock in 1990 and 1991. The priest had worked in the parish in the rural town for nearly 20 years. The charges against him include five counts of sexually assaulting a child under 16 and two of indecently assaulting a minor under his authority. He has been released on bail to appear in court next month. The priest is the fourth charged by Strikeforce Georgiana, which so far has laid 178 charges against four members of the clergy in the Hunter Valley relating to at least 50 alleged victims. Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Bishop Michael Malone says he is co-operating with police who are investigating the regrettable incident.
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