AUSTRALIA
The Washington Post
May 22, 2018
By Amanda Erickson
Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson knew, the men told the court.
He knew that the Rev. Jim Fletcher had been sexually abusing young altar servers. He knew because they told him. He knew because they asked him for help.
Now, Wilson is going to jail.
The Roman Catholic leader was convicted of failing to act on reports of child sex abuse. He faces as much as two years in prison. The 67-year-old is the most senior Catholic leader to ever be charged with concealing abuse.
In the courtroom, Peter Creigh testified that Fletcher made him strip and kneel as he masturbated. He was abused at 10, he said, and he told Wilson about it in 1976, when he was 15. Wilson was a parish priest at the time. Another former altar boy said he brought his concerns to Wilson, as well. (Fletcher was found guilty of multiple counts of sexual assault of boys in 2004 and died two years later in prison.)
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