Former Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson sentenced to home detention over child sex abuse cover-up
CHILD sex abuse victims have expressed outrage at the double insult of disgraced former Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson being sentenced to home detention, and one of his friends taunting them amid ugly scenes outside court.
- AUGUST: Search begins for new Adelaide Archbishop
- JULY: Philip Wilson avoids immediate jail term
- JULY: Archbishop resigns after child sex cover-up conviction
- JUNE: Jail ‘could kill’ Philip Wilson, defence says
CHILD sex abuse victims have expressed outrage at the double insult of disgraced former Adelaide archbishop Philip Wilson being sentenced to home detention, and one of his friends taunting them amid ugly scenes outside court.
Wilson, 67, on Tuesday escaped a custodial sentence for concealing the abuse of altar boys and will instead be subject to “strict” conditions while living with his sister on the NSW Central Coast.
In a stoush outside Newcastle Local Court that left campaigners “disgusted”, an abuse victim was verbally abused by a member of Wilson’s entourage.
The man, understood to be a semi-retired company director and an old school friend of Wilson’s, said he didn’t have “time for rubbish like” victim Peter Gogarty, 57, during a heated confrontation and scuffles after Tuesday’s hearing.
In a furious exchange caught on camera, a distressed Mr Gogarty — who was abused by Wilson’s former colleague and flatmate James Patrick Fletcher in the Hunter Valley — condemned the slur and said it proved the church’s true contempt for victims.
He said: “If the Catholic Church thinks I am a nuisance now, brace yourself. The community is on my side and on the side of victims and survivors everywhere.”
A Church spokeswoman denied knowing the man’s identity, saying he was not an Adelaide Archdiocese “official”.
Wilson’s friend, 68, had attended every court hearing and sat alongside Wilson and his senior aides in the courtroom.
He accompanied Wilson outside court and shielded him from media.
“Any comments made during the media scrum had no connection with (former) Archbishop Wilson or the Church,” the Church spokeswoman said.
In a landmark hearing that took less than five minutes, Magistrate Robert Stone sentenced Wilson to home detention after NSW Corrections concluded he was a “suitable” candidate.
In May, Magistrate Stone found that between 2004 and 2006, Wilson failed to tell NSW police what he knew about the sexual abuse of children by Fletcher in the 1970s.
He will serve half of his 12-month prison term at his sister’s and brother in law’s two-storey house in Terrigal, 90 minutes north of Sydney.
It follows his world-first conviction in May.
During his six-month non parole period, he will be subject to electronic monitoring from a tracking device, regular supervision, home visits and alcohol testing.
He is allowed to leave the house for medical appointments, exercise, grocery shopping and other approved activities. His sentence started on Tuesday despite his appeal.
Academic Mr Gogarty, a father of five, described the sentence as a “holiday”.
Wilson, who suffers a range of medical conditions including early onset Alzheimer’s, depression and anxiety, resigned as the state’s most senior Catholic Church leader more than a fortnight ago amid intense public and political pressure.
Fletcher, 64, died in prison in 2006 after being convicted of abusing altar boy Daniel Feenan, now 41.
Outside court on Tuesday Mr Feenan was pleased but added: “I would like to see him show some type of remorse and I’d like to see him apologise.”
The case’s main victim, Peter Aidan Creigh, 61, was in hospital on Tuesday recovering from quadruple heart bypass complications.
Mr Creigh’s friends and family are petitioning the NSW Government to increase the maximum penalty for concealing abuse.
Wilson, who refused to comment outside court, lodged an appeal on Tuesday.
A hearing is scheduled later this month.
The ruling came a fortnight after the state’s most senior Catholic Church leader quit his post in the wake of intense public pressure to resign his post including from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
In May, Magistrate Stone found that between 2004 and 2006, Wilson did not tell NSW police what he knew about the sexual abuse of children by his former flatmate, the now dead paedophile priest Fletcher, in the 1970s.
Fletcher, 64, died in prison in 2006 after being convicted of abusing an underage altar boy Daniel Feenan, now 41.
Fletcher also abused Peter Aidan Creigh, 61, and Peter Gogarty, 57 as well as at least one other former altar boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Police fear he attacked numerous others.
Wilson, who suffers from a range of health problems including the early onset of Alzheimer’s, will remain a church bishop after returning to the “ranks” but will have no authority.
What role, if any, he has in the future is yet to be determined as the church seeks his replacement to head the South Australian Catholic community.
Despite Pope Francis accepting his resignation letter, sent on July 20, Wilson, who has been on bail since May, is “convinced of his own innocence”, according to the SA church’s acting boss.
Wilson had resisted widespread calls to step down, pending the result of the appeals process remains live, but last month conceded this was causing “just too much pain and distress” so “I must end this” and resign.
Despite the widespread community outrage and internal church concerns about the damage his defiance was causing, he kept his resignation secret from his senior colleagues for 10 days.
The Vatican communicated his resignation almost two months after Wilson was found guilty covering up Fletcher’s “acts of punishment”.
“Though my resignation was not requested, I made this decision because I have become increasingly worried at the growing level of hurt that my recent conviction has caused within the community,” he said in a statement.
Mr Turnbull, a Catholic who The Advertiser revealed last week had embarked on a one man crusade to have Wilson sacked, welcomed the decision “which belatedly recognises the many calls, including my own, for him to resign”.
Australia’s ambassador to the Holy See, Melissa Hitchman, had lobbied the Pope on behalf of Mr Turnbull and the Federal Government, for Wilson to be sacked.
The National Council of Priests of Australia and Premier Steven Marshall had also demanded Wilson be dismissed.
Speaking a day after Wilson’s resignation was announced, Archdiocese of Adelaide Apostolic Administrator, Bishop Greg O’Kelly, defended his friend.
Bishop O’Kelly said an angry public were “hurting” but insisted Wilson was “concerned for healing” and urged the public to “remember he is a man who has done so much in child protection areas”.
“It is clear from his (resignation) statement … that his focus has been on the pain of others,” he said.
“We must not forget the great good he has done in those areas.
“We have to … listen and try to rebuild and restore trust, restore confidence.
“He has made his decision out of concern for the wider issues in the church … the hurt to victims and the divisions that has occurred and he wants to do what he can to remedy it.”