AUSTRALIA
The Australian
Rick Morton
From:The Australian
January 05, 2013
A RETIRED Catholic priest has become only the second man in Australia’s history charged with covering up the child sexual abuse of another clergyman.
The 81-year-old man was arrested after he took himself to Charlestown police station, near Newcastle, at about 9.20am and was charged with accessory before the fact of indecent assault of a child and concealing the offence of another man.
Police will allege the cover-up relates to the sexual abuse of a nine-year-old boy between 1982 and 1984 at a residence in Nelson Bay and on a beach at Newcastle.
The first man in Australia charged with concealing similar offences, former priest Tom Brennan, died of cancer in October last year before his case reached court.
The latest man to be charged was granted conditional bail yesterday and will appear in Newcastle Local Court on January 29.
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