Victims of Pedophile Aussie Priest Reaches 45 As He Admits to New Charges

By Vittorio Hernandez
The International Business Times
November 18, 2013

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/522968/20131118/victims-pedophile-aussie-priest-reaches-45-admits.htm#.UooK8eL0CCp

Australian Roman Catholic Church admits of hundreds of child sex abuse cases.

[with video]

Defrocked Victorian Catholic paedophile priest Gerald Francis Ridsdale admitted on Monday morning to the Melbourne Magistrates' Court through a videolink from his cell to 14 more sexual abuses of children.

With his new admission, the number of the young male and female victims of the 79-year-old former priest goes up to 45. He committed them between the 1961 and 1982.

His new admission would affect Mr Ridsdale's eligibility for parole which is up in the coming weeks.

He has been in jail since 1994 for sexual offences against 21 victims - 20 boys and 1 girl. His victims rose to 31 when he was convicted of more charges in 2006 for sexual abuse of 10 more boys from 1970 to 1987.

Magistrate Ian Alger, however, struck out 54 more charges. Mr Ridsdale is slated to appear before the Victorian County Court on Wednesday for a plea hearing.

Mr Ridsdale is not the only priest in Australia charged with paedophilia. BBC tried to track another old priest and got this response.