By Rebecca Brice
ABC News
June 29, 2010
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/29/2939869.htm?section=justin
A former Catholic priest tried to bribe his way out of an Indonesian jail while facing child sex charges, the Adelaide District Court has heard.
Charles Alfred Barnett, 69, was arrested in Indonesia in 2008, three decades after he abused the first of four teenage boys in South Australia's mid-north.
His lawyer told the court Barnett spent a year in horrendous conditions in jail in Jakarta, despite paying $32,000 to be released on home detention so he could sort out his business affairs before extradition.
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| Victim told court Charles Alfred Barnett was a 'despicable monster' |
Judge Paul Rice said the payment amounted to a bribe.
In statements read to the court, Barnett's victims called him a despicable monster and spoke of feeling betrayed by the Catholic Church.
Barnett apologised and acknowledged a jail sentence was inevitable.
He was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing in August.
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