AUSTRALIA
Daily Telegraph
SA Supreme Court told Catholic Church dismissed teen sex allegations against Father John Fleming as a priest “just being inappropriate”
CHIEF COURT REPORTER SEAN FEWSTER THE ADVERTISER OCTOBER 30, 2014
A WOMAN who claims Father John Fleming used her, as a teenager, for sex has told a court the Catholic Church dismissed her complaint as the priest “just being inappropriate”.
The woman, known as “Jane”, today told the Supreme Court she was shocked by a Catholic Church worker’s reaction when she raised a complaint against Fr Fleming in 2001-2002.
She said she told the woman that, following a 1970s ménage-a-trois, when she was a teenager, Fr Fleming had used her to service his sexual needs.
Father Fleming denies the allegations.
“After I had told her, (the worker) said ‘wasn’t he just being inappropriate?’,” Jane said.
“This person was essentially telling me essentially that what I had just told her was inappropriate — it was not inappropriate, it was wrong.”
Fr Fleming, 71, is suing over Sunday Mail articles reporting allegations he was inappropriately sexually involved Jane, another woman known as “Jenny” and a man known as “Richard”.
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