Priest Guilty of Assault on Teen

By Elle Farcic
West Australian
August 21, 2014

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/24779307/priest-guilty-of-assault-on-teen/

A Catholic priest has been found guilty of sexually abusing a teenage boy on church property in Perth 30 years ago.

Glenn Humphreys was accused of abusing the teenager between 1983 and 1986 while he was assistant priest at a church in Perth's south.

After six hours of deliberation, a District Court jury last night convicted Humphreys of four counts of unlawful and indecent assault.

He was acquitted of carnal knowledge against the order of nature.

The court was told Humphreys had assaulted the boy in the church's presbytery and in a bathroom at a nearby primary school.

He admitted having an "inappropriate" sexual relationship with the boy but argued their actions were consensual.

Giving evidence this week, Humphreys said he accepted he took advantage of a vulnerable young person.

He admitted he started to feel a sexual attraction to the boy in the second half of 1985, shortly before he took him to Quinns Rocks for a holiday.

"It didn't dawn on me at the time that there was anything unusual with that," he said.

"It was only a little break from the parish, that's all."

His victim, now aged 45, lives overseas but came to Perth to give evidence.

The man told the court one of the hardest things he had done was reporting the abuse to police in 2012.

He said the abuse left him confused and shocked, describing some of the incidents as "highly traumatising".

Humphreys moved to Perth in January 1983 after a stint at an Eastern States school.

Two men who were allegedly abused by Humphreys at the school in the mid-70s and early 80s also gave evidence during the trial.

The men testified Humphreys would put on music, often by his favourite artist Barbra Streisand, before touching them inappropriately.

Two years ago, Humphreys sent his Perth victim a letter of apology and asked for his forgiveness.

Prosecutor James Mactaggart said Humphreys blatantly abused his position of trust.