AUSTRALIA
9 News
[with video]
Former Adelaide archbishop Ian George is reportedly under investigation over whether he played a role in encouraging a disgraced priest to flee the country.
South Australia Police has launched fresh investigation into the events leading to former St Peter’s College priest and accused sex offender John Mountford fleeing Australia in 1992 after he was sacked from the college amid allegations of sexual abuse.
Senior policeman Grant Stevens confirmed to the ABC a police probe had been launched to investigate whether any of those who may have been involved in Mountford’s rapid exit perverted the court of justice or impeded an investigation into his activities.
The disgraced priest fled Adelaide for Bali on June 6, 1992 after admitting to the sexual abuse of a Year 10 student.
He allegedly flew out within hours of being visited by then archbishop George, a chain of events detailed in the 2004 Board of Inquiry report into the Adelaide diocese’s handling of sexual abuse allegations.
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