NEW ZEALAND
Newstalk ZB
The Catholic Church has unreservedly apologised for the actions of a former priest who raped and indecently assaulted four young girls.
Peter Hercock, a former Chaplin at Sacred Heart College in Lower Hutt, was jailed by Judge Bill Hastings yesterday for six years and seven months after earlier admitting two charges of rape, one of attempted rape and four of indecently assaulting a girl aged between 12 and 16.
The offending happened in the 1970s and 1980s in the Hutt Valley, Wellington, against four Sacred Heart pupils.
Archbishop of Wellington Cardinal John Dew stated that these crimes should never happen.
“It brings shame on the church,” he said. “We would certainly want to apologise to them, and say how deeply sorry we are that they’ve suffered this terrible trauma.”
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.