Abbott Criticised for Supporting Priest

By Rashida Yosufzai
Brisbane Times
March 24, 2013

http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-national/abbott-criticised-for-supporting-priest-20130324-2gnit.html

AAP

A man allegedly sexually abused by a Catholic priest as a teenager says Tony Abbott should not have vouched for the priest's character in court.

John Gerard Nestor, 50, was a priest in the Wollongong diocese in NSW when he was charged with the indecent assault of the then-14-year-old altar boy.

In his 1997 court case, the priest admitted he had slept on mattresses on a floor with the boy and his younger brother in July 1991, but denied assaulting the boy.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, then a federal parliamentary secretary to the employment minister, told the court Mr Nestor was an upright and virtuous man whom he had known since 1984 while studying at Sydney's St Patrick's Seminary to become a priest.

"He was ... a beacon of humanity at the seminary," Mr Abbott said.

The magistrate found Mr Nestor guilty and sentenced him to jail.

But in October 1997, the conviction was overturned on appeal - in part because of doubts cast on the accuracy of the boy's evidence - and Mr Nestor never served any time behind bars.

After the court case, the Catholic church never allowed Mr Nestor to return to ministry, because it sourced "significant additional material" relating to further complaints made against him.

Around 2008, the Vatican officially struck off Mr Nestor from the clergy list.

Mr Nestor told AAP in February Mr Abbott was "a man of integrity" in agreeing to provide the character reference.

However, in an interview with AAP, the alleged victim, who asked not to be named, said Mr Abbott should not have provided a character reference for Mr Nestor.

"I was not aware of who Tony Abbott was at the time," he said.

"While I do not necessarily believe that he has done anything wrong, in hindsight it may have been better if he had not involved himself in the matter."

It is understood Mr Abbott communicated with Mr Nestor twice after the court cases, but has had no contact with him for almost 15 years.

"In 1997, Mr Abbott provided a reference for Mr Nestor in an open court. He was subsequently acquitted by a District Court judge," a spokesman for Mr Abbott told AAP.

The alleged victim queried why Mr Abbott hadn't stayed in contact with Mr Nestor.

"If someone was of such good character, why has contact not been kept?" he asked.

He said Mr Abbott's reference may have been a factor in Mr Nestor's successful appeal.

"Certainly a character reference from a member of parliament would hold some sway, no doubt about it," he said.

"It probably did play a big part, but there were other things that played a bigger part. For example, John Nestor never gave evidence at the trial. He was never cross-examined."

He said his case should be examined by the royal commission into child sex abuse.