AUSTRALIA
Courier
Alicia Thomas
@aliciajthomas
19 Sep 2016
A former Ballarat priest who has pleaded guilty to a string of historic child sexual abuse charges spanning a 22-year period has been forced to listen to his victims relive the horror he inflicted on them.
Robert Claffey, 73, sat with his head down and eyes closed at a County Court sitting in Geelong on Monday as the details of the crimes he committed on each of his 12 victims were read out loud.
The victims, many who were abused at the hands of Claffey while he was parish priest in Ballarat, detailed the self blame, suicidal tenancies and failed relationships that have plagued their lives since Claffey’s abuse.
One victim, who was also the victim of disgraced paedophile priest Gerald Risdale at Apollo Bay, told the court he knew he had to be careful about Claffey because “there was something creepy about the way he looked at me.”
“I felt dirty and complicit in what had happened … if only I had the courage to speak out to save other children,” he said.
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