MOREE (AUSTRALIA)
Moree Champion
Nov. 5, 2019
By Breanna Chillingworth
A FORMER Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing 40 children over three decades has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
David Joseph Perrett appeared in Armidale District Court for an arraignment hearing on 139 historical sex abuse charges.
The child abuse allegations stem from when Perrett was a serving Catholic priest in the Armidale, Walgett, Moree, Guyra and wider New England area, as well as Sydney and the coast, between the 1960s and 1990s.
Perrett has been living on strict bail in Armidale.
Judge Jeffery McLennan is yet to set a date or location for the trial of the charges, which include assault; buggery; carnal knowledge of a child; and maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child under the age of 16.
The trial – which could take three months – has not been set down yet, but Perrett will return to court in February next year.
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