Paedophile Priest Gerald Ridsdale Interviewed over New Abuse Claims

By Samantha Donovan
ABC News
May 31, 2013

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-31/paedophile-priest-gerald-ridsdale-interviewed-by-detectives/4724678


One of Australia's most notorious paedophile priests, Gerald Ridsdale, is being interviewed by detectives about more abuse allegations.

AM understands Victorian police successfully applied for permission to interview 79-year-old Ridsdale yesterday.

He is currently in jail for the abuse of dozens of children between the 1960s and the 1980s.

In 1994 he pleaded guilty to more than 40 charges of sexual abuse involving 21 children. He was convicted again 12 years later over charges involving 10 boys.

Stephen Woods was a 14-year-old schoolboy when Ridsdale raped him.

He is not surprised more people are reportedly going to police with allegations against Ridsdale, and he believes the Victorian Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse are largely the reason.

"If you saw the commissioners in action you would say yes, I am absolutely going to go for this. I am absolutely going to tell the truth. I'm going to tell about everything that happened to me," Mr Woods said.

"It's really heartening to see so many new survivors, new victims coming out and speaking and looking for help and looking for assistance.

"Families are now seeing that everything about the corruption of the Catholic Church is being exposed; that it is not such a strange thing to be involved in anymore."

Detectives from Taskforce Sano are conducting the new investigations.

The taskforce was set up specifically to handle complaints of historical sexual abuse revealed in the Victorian parliamentary inquiry.

Ridsdale's non-parole period expires next month, and Mr Woods says he and other victims are disturbed the paedophile priest could soon be released.

"The victims that I speak to who are survivors of his assaults are really upset that the Catholic Church can get away with so much covering up because they knew about him in the 60s, they knew about other paedophiles in the 50s, and they did nothing to protect the children other than to move paedophiles around," he said.

"And so the idea that one of them could be getting out of jail is quite disarming and upsetting to other victims."

Mr Woods plans to make his feelings know to the parole board.

"I believe a number of us are making quite vivid, shall I say, and very strong recommendations and our feelings made to the parole board," he said.

Ridsdale has a hearing before the Victorian Adult Parole Board within the next month.

While there is no guarantee he will be freed at the hearing, his victims have been informed and encouraged to write submissions to the Parole Board.