Priest who raped and abused young girls wants to stay in Oz
A priest who raped and abused young girls over 30 years is fighting deportation back to Ireland, claiming he could contract coronavirus if sent back to his homeland.
NSW
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A paedophile priest who was jailed for the rape and abuse of young girls is fighting deportation back to Ireland because he is worried he will contract coronavirus.
Finian Egan was released from Long Bay Prison almost three years ago, after serving four years of an eight-year sentence for child sex offences committed on the Central Coast and in Sydney.
Last week, the former parish priest lost his bid to remain an Australian citizen, with Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to now decide whether he can remain in the country.
Born in Ireland, Egan came to Australia in 1959 having been ordained in the Catholic Church. He retired as a parish priest in 2000.
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In 2012, Egan was charged with eight counts of sexual offences against minors, committed between 1961 and 1987 during the time he was an ordained priest, including one count of rape, three counts of indecent assault on a child under the age of 16 and four counts of indecent assault.
A NSW District Court jury found Egan guilty of the offences, with the federal government moving to revoke his Australian citizenship.
Egan won an appeal for the order to be dismissed, but the victory was short-lived with the matter referred back to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal after the government challenged the decision.
In 2018, he was charged with a further four offences for failing to meet his reporting obligations as a registered sex offender.
One of his supporters, Father Vincent Casey, argued that should Egan be deported back to Ireland he could reoffend, given he would be “anonymous, isolated, impoverished, sick and with no oversight or support”.
Father Casey, who described Egan as his “friend and mentor”, said such a situation created the “perfect storm” for a child abuser to reoffend.
Egan also raised the pandemic as a reason that he should be allowed to remain in Australia, arguing that deportation as a result of being stripped of his citizenship would make it more likely that he would contract COVID-19.
But, in reaffirming the decision of the government, tribunal deputy president John Pascoe said revoking Egan’s citizenship sent a clear message on what was expected of those wanting an Australian citizenship, while also noting the lack of remorse the former priest had shown.
Originally published as Priest who raped and abused young girls wants to stay in Oz