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	Priest Admits Sex Abuse of Altar Boys By Amelia Bentley Brisbane Times April 24, 2009 http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/qld-news/priest-admits-sex-abuse-of-altar-boys-20090424-ahe1.html A former Queensland Anglican priest has been jailed for three years for committing sex offences against altar boys in the early 1980s. Barry John Greaves, 71, indecently treated three boys aged between 11 and 16, Brisbane District Court was told today. The offences occurred when Greaves, a former chaplain to Brisbane archbishops Peter Hollingworth and Phillip Aspinall, was a priest at the Boonah Harrisville Parish, south west of Brisbane. But Greaves will only serve nine months behind bars, after sentencing Judge Gilbert Trafford-Walker took into account his old age and that he had pleaded guilty to the offences. The court heard one of Greaves victims had been grieving for his dead father and had turned to his priest for support when he was molested. Crown prosecutor Jody-Ann Thomas said Greaves had acted as the boy's "priest, confidant and saviour, only to abuse (his position) for his own sexual gratification." Greaves pleaded guilty to nine child sex offences, including two offences of indecent treatment of boys under 14 and seven offences of indecent treatment of boys under 17. The abuse took place over a two-year period in the early 1980s but was reported in 2004 when one of the victims saw Greaves at a church service and made a formal complaint to the Anglican Diocese. The victim, who cannot be named, also made contact with two brothers who were also victims of Greaves. The court was told the three men, now adults, reported they experienced "significant lasting effects on their social development, relationships and life generally" because of the abuse. The men gave evidence against Greaves at an earlier committal hearing, a process they found traumatic, she said. Ms Thomas said one of the victims said reliving the abuse while giving evidence was "the most harrowing day of his adult life." "Another complainant said giving evidence 'broke his spirit,'" she said. Greaves' victims, now adults, were in court to face their abuser. Judge Trafford-Walker told Greaves his conduct would affect his victims for the rest of their lives. "Your conduct against these three young boys have caused them harm in many ways," he said. "Unfortunately it is often the case that young people don't overcome problems when they are interfered with." He said Greaves had "scandalised" members of the Anglican Church. "It's a tragedy for the church and a great disgrace," he said. He said it was once hard for people to believe a priest could be guilty of abusing children. "The first trial I had a jury who couldn't believe a person in your position would do such a thing," he said. "That person was acquitted despite very strong evidence against them. Things have changed now." Defence barrister Mark Johnson said Greaves grew up in the Toowoomba area and began studying for his priesthood in 1959. He had served in a number of parishes in and around Brisbane and also Cunnamulla and Bundaberg, he said. Mr Johnson said Greaves had lived a law-abiding life despite these offences and had not committed any other offences against children since the offences 24 years ago. He said Greaves, who has since retired from his church duties, had written letters of apology to his victims, saying he was "truly sorry and hoped they would overcome difficulties his acts towards them had caused." "He truly acknowledges the distress caused to his family and members of his church," Mr Johnson said. "He deeply regrets what happened." Judge Trafford-Walker ordered his jail sentence would be suspended after he served nine months behind bars.
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