Former priest David Rapson is to be freed from jail and has had convictions for sexually abusing eight boys at a Catholic boarding school quashed, in a ruling that has devastated men who gave evidence in court against him.
The Office of Public Prosecutions on Wednesday conceded the 13 charges Rapson faced in the County Court last year should not have been heard in the one trial because of differences in the offending that was alleged.
The Court of Appeal said the concession was proper and quashed Rapson's convictions on five counts of rape and eight of indecent assault, that he be released from custody on bail and that he face a new trial in the County Court.
Rapson, 61, was last year jailed for a minimum 10 years after he was found guilty by a jury of the 13 charges related to the abuse of eight boys at the school between the mid 1970s and 1990.
The latest ruling was a major blow for the eight men who testified in Rapson's trial, and who might now have to return to the witness stand to have their allegations tested again in court.
"I'm bloody dumbfounded, I don't know what to say. I'm absolutely gutted. I was told by the police and the OPP that if I came forward and told the truth, I'd only have to do it once," one man told Fairfax Media.
"You understand why others are reluctant to come forward, when they make decisions like this."
Another of the men said Rapson's conviction last year had brought closure for him and his family, and that he was "shattered" at the thought of having to give evidence again.
"We were relieved when he was convicted and I don't want to have to go through all that again or for my mum to have to hear all that again. I'd definitely be p----- off if I have to go through that all again," he said.
The OPP was obliged to concede Rapson should not have faced only the one trial because of a finding the Court of Appeal made in a separate case earlier this month.
Court of Appeal president Justice Chris Maxwell and his colleagues, justices Geoffrey Nettle and David Beach, agreed it would be the presiding judge's decision on how many trials Rapson faced.
Crown prosecutor Peter Kidd, SC, said three trials should be held. But Paul Holdenson, QC, representing Rapson, said eight trials were needed, one for each of the complainants.
Mr Holdenson said different "modus operandi" were alleged during the trial, ranging from Rapson molesting a boy while the child was in bed, using alcohol, cigarettes and computer games to lure others to his office before they were assaulted, to sexual assaults of a violent nature.
Rapson, who was later defrocked by Pope John Paul II, was not in court on Wednesday.
A date for his return to the County Court is yet to be set.
