Catholic Priest Finian Egan Confronted by Sex-Abuse Victims in Court

By Paul Bibby
The Sydney Morning Herald
December 16, 2013

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/catholic-priest-finian-egan-confronted-by-sexabuse-victims-in-court-20131216-2zgd1.html

Sentencing hearing: Finian Egan at St Gerards Catholic Church, Carlingford, in the 1980s.

Three women who were sexually abused as children by prominent Sydney priest Finian Egan have confronted the 71-year-old in court and slammed the Catholic Church for allowing him to continue working for five decades.

"May God have mercy on your soul, Father Egan, because I certainly don't," a woman who was raped by Egan at the age of 16 told him as he faced a sentencing hearing in the Downing Centre District Court on Monday.

"You took away my chance to experience my first kiss with a boy, and my first sexual experience.

"I can't explain the sadness that brings to me every single day."

Advertisement

Last month, Egan was found guilty of seven counts of indecent assault and one count of rape in relation to attacks on girls aged 10 to 17 in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s in Sydney and on the central coast.

Prosecutors are pursuing a custodial sentence.

On Monday, the victims of his attacks delivered powerful, emotional victim impact statements to the sentencing hearing.

One victim who cannot be named, spoke of being called a liar and whipped when she complained about Egan's sexual abuse.

"It took a lot of courage to tell one of the nuns about what was happening," the woman, now in her 60s, said.

"But instead of helping me and stopping the offender, I was punished by having my pants pulled down and belted on my bare bottom.

"I was forced to drink castor oil and then made to clean up my own vomit."

The woman said that, decades later, after Egan was finally charged over the abuse, she was contacted by the Catholic Church's abuse compensation arm, Towards Healing, an approach that disgusted and infuriated her.

"I was furious," she said.

"All I could see was me as a child begging for help and me being punished. My belief was that the Catholic Church was going to offer me a token amount of compensation and ask me to drop the charges against the offender.

"There is no amount of money or someone saying sorry that can undo the damage of being in such a situation."

Later in the hearing, another of Egan's victims slammed the Catholic Church for failing to stop Egan, despite repeated complaints about his behaviour.

"The Catholic Church should never have allowed him to continue working as a priest," the woman said.

"Surely they had a duty of care to stop this occurring rather than simply moving him to another parish."

Another victim, who was assaulted by Egan at his last parish at Carlingford, spoke of how the abuse had affected her ability to be a mother.

"By the time my little boy was 10 years old, I couldn't touch him any more," the woman said.

"I haven't hugged him for over 12 years, and I know it must hurt him because it breaks my heart.

"My daughter can't walk to the bus stop without calling me. She's afraid, it's a fear that has been in place since childhood.

"I'm here to lay the blame where it belongs - at the feet of the paedophile sitting before you."

The hearing continues.

Correction: The original version of this story said the first woman mentioned was 13 when she was raped by Egan. She was 16.