Archbishop Philip Wilson trial: Victim gives harrowing evidence of sex abuse allegedly covered up by Catholic Church’s SA leader
THE main victim of child sex abuse allegedly covered up by SA’s most senior Catholic Church leader, Archbishop Philip Wilson, has told how he remembers “the horror on his face when I described the abuse” — and waived his right to anonymity.
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THE main victim of child sex abuse allegedly covered up by South Australia’s most senior Catholic Church leader, Archbishop Philip Wilson, has told how he remembers “the horror on his face when I described the abuse”.
Peter Aiden Creigh, 57, can be publicly named for the first time after he waived his legal right to lifetime anonymity on Thursday.
He was abused by a paedophile priest in Newcastle in the early 1970s.
After being warned by prosecutors about the impact his decision to go public would have, Mr Creigh replied: “I’m ready.”
The rare application to revoke the automatic secrecy order on victims of sex abuse was later approved by Magistrate Robert Stone in the Newcastle Local Court before Mr Creigh gave evidence.
Prosecutors said releasing Mr Creigh’s name would not identify other victims and witnesses in the trial.
The landmark trial has heard allegations that Archbishop Wilson discouraged sexual assault victims from reporting sex abuse claims and paid off other families in a cover-up campaign that spanned four decades and embroiled the Vatican.
Archbishop Philip Edward Wilson, 67, has become the world’s most senior church official to stand trial accused of concealing historic abuse of young boys in the 1970s and 1980s.
Prosecutors allege the Archbishop of Adelaide failed on multiple occasions to report the abuse of altar boys to authorities amid claims some were threatened into silence, accused of lying or told they should be “ashamed” of their supposedly unfounded allegations.
The court has heard how the Archbishop allegedly failed to inform police of the sexual assault of Mr Creigh, then aged 10, at Maitland Catholic Church near Newcastle, 165km north of Sydney.
The attacker, Father James Patrick Fletcher, was the Archbishop’s then-flatmate in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese when the Mr Creigh revealed the “punishment” abuse.
Prosecutor Gareth Harrison claimed when the “trusted” Archbishop first heard the claims in 1976, he expressed shock and queried whether the boy was lying.
On Thursday, Mr Creigh told the court he was an altar boy with an East Maitland church’s youth group when he was abused by Fletcher.
He came from a loving family who were strict Catholics, he told the court.
He recounted how he approached the Archbishop, then a junior priest, about the abuse during a meeting at 7.30pm around Easter in 1976.
“I thought I could trust him (the Archbishop),” he told the court. “At this stage I was 15. I said ‘Father Wilson, I had concerns about certain acts of punishment that were committed on me by a former priest of the parish’.
“He did ask who the priest was and I said it was Fletcher. Father asked what type of punishment was carried out and I said to him the type … for the things that I had done wrong.”
He then gave harrowing and graphic evidence about the abuse he endured.
“Father Wilson was quite shocked because of the so-called punishment,” Mr Creigh said.
“He said to me he could not believe Father Fletcher would do such a thing.
“I said I had concerns over the punishment. Father Wilson asked if I had mentioned it to anyone. I said no, I had not even mentioned it to my parents.”
He added: “The look on his face (indicated his shock) and the horror on his face when I described the abuse. Father Wilson assured me the so-called punishments were not normal and he would mention it to (the parish priest).”
But the court heard that six months later the Archbishop had not heard anything back from senior church officials he claimed were investigating.
Mr Creigh told police has was abused by Fletcher at least 10 times but the court heard Mr Creigh did not inform his family until 2009.
Before telling his family, Mr Creigh had only told a doctor about being abused following “self-harm” but did not name Fletcher or provide specifics.
The court has heard he then wrote a letter in 2010 to local church leaders, in which he stated: “The abuse was bad enough to live with, but it was the hint of a cover up or lack of action some years later that really hurts.”
Since then he has given evidence to the Royal Commission into child sex abuse in the church.
Under cross-examination, Mr Creigh could not recall the exact words he used in his conversation with the Archbishop.
Simon Buchen, defending, asked Mr Creigh whether he had given “conflicting evidence”, which was denied.
The court was shown a police video in which Mr Creigh claimed he had told the Archbishop about the abuse.
Archbishop Wilson doesn’t dispute that Mr Creigh was abused but denies being told specific details.
He denies one concealing a serious indictable offence between 2004 and 2006 and faces a maximum two years in jail if convicted.
Fletcher, 65, known as Jim, died in prison while serving a 10-year jail term for abusing another altar boy, who cannot be named.
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