AUSTRALIA
The Islander
JOANNE MCCARTHY
22 Aug 2016
NOTORIOUS Hunter paedophile priest David O’Hearn was “like a standover man in his local community”, a judge has told a Sydney court.
Judge Richard Cogswell said O’Hearn, 55, had the public profile of a holy man but in private was “a major criminal”.
Judge Cogswell is sentencing O’Hearn who was found guilty of 44 child sex offences against six boys in the Hunter in the 1980s and 1990s.
His victims are in the court – several in tears – as Judge Cogswell described O’Hearn’s offences against them. O’Hearn used wrestling as a “deliberate and calculated” way of engaging sexually with boys who were vulnerable, or from devout families.
He committed offences “under the guise or cover of a legitimate sporting activity”.
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.