Church Leader Charged with Molesting Women

By Sean Cowan
West Australian
January 19, 2012

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/12649361/church-leader-charged-with-molesting-women/


The leader of a Perth Christian group with strong links to the Catholic Church has been charged with molesting several female members of his flock.

After a four-year campaign by the alleged victims, police from the sex assault squad issued a summons to Kevin Gerard Byrne Horgan yesterday and he is expected to appear in Perth Magistrate's Court next month.

It will be alleged the offences occurred when Mr Horgan, 68, was the leader of the Bethel Covenant Community, which closed in 2008 after several women started an internal revolt against him.

At the time, _The West Australian's _ exclusive reports revealed the complaints about Mr Horgan dated back to the 1990s and were detailed in reports prepared by senior Bethel members.

The complaints mainly related to inappropriate touching of women's breasts at Bethel functions.

In subsequent reports, it was revealed that Catholic Archbishop Barry Hickey had been warned about Mr Horgan's behaviour in 1994 and again in a report he received in 2000. Archbishop Hickey later apologised for failing to act sooner.

Mr Horgan, who founded the ultraconservative Bethel group in 1979 and earned more than $100,000 a year as the group's executive director, sold the West Leederville home he bought with the help of a Church-linked mortgage for $3 million in 2009.

He no longer owns any property, though he lives in a Mt Lawley home owned by his wife Suellen.

Bethel ceased operating within months and sold its West Leederville headquarters for $10.45 million in 2009. Some of the money was used to pay for counselling and medical treatment for 35 victims, including some who had left Bethel years earlier.

But it is understood a new entity, called the Micah Foundation, then took control of Bethel's funds and paid for a lawyer to examine the women's complaints. The reports were provided to police about six months ago.

It is understood the charges relate to complaints by several women, some of whom are considering legal action against Bethel. But police would not confirm the details of the charges yesterday.

Mr Horgan, who has twice met the Pope and is the brother of Leeuwin Estate owner Denis Horgan, has previously refused to comment about the allegations. It is also believed he has been ill and may be unable to appear in court.