Accused Serial Pedophile Faces New Zealand Court
By Alys Francis
A former Catholic brother charged with more than 250 counts of sexual abuse against children and young adults in Australia has appeared in a New Zealand court. NSW police are trying to extradite Bernard Kevin McGrath to Australia to face 252 charges laid in a Newcastle court on June 27. The 65-year-old is understood to have flown to Sri Lanka, where he regularly holidays, shortly after the charges were laid. He is believed to have flown back to New Zealand last week and appeared in a Christchurch court this morning where he applied for bail. He will now decide whether to fight the extradition or return to Australia. The former St John of God brother is accused of repeatedly raping, molesting and abusing dozens of young boys at church-run institutions in the Newcastle-Maitland diocese in NSW during the late 1970s and 80s. The 65-year-old also recently served two years in a New Zealand prison for sexually abusing boys in Christchurch.
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.