AUSTRALIA
The West Australian
AAP
Pornographic homosexual magazines and videos were found in the presbytery of a Hunter Valley Catholic priest later convicted of sexually assaulting a boy, a police whistleblower has told a special NSW commission of inquiry.
Detective chief inspector Peter Fox says a member of the Branxton Lochinvar parish told him he came across the material when he helped Fr James Fletcher move items from Branxton to Lochinvar in early 2003.
In the course of investigating child sexual abuse allegations against Fr Fletcher, Det Insp Fox asked him later that year about the magazines and videos.
“He said they belonged to a priest who had previously lived in the presbytery,” Det Insp Fox told the commission on Tuesday.
“Pornography is not illegal but it’s highly unusual that a member of the clergy have this type of material.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.