Honorio Hincapie pleaded guilty to grooming, indecent dealing

A Queensland priest, who was respected in many regional communities, is in disgrace after pleading guilty to molesting boys and describing his attraction to them as an “illness”.

Chaplain Honorio Hincapie. Photo Tom Huntley / The Observer

A predator priest, who served communities across Queensland, has faced court for a horrifying betrayal of trust after he sexually abused two boys at a birthday party in Maryborough.

Honorio Hincapie, 62, pleaded guilty in Hervey Bay District Court on Wednesday to several counts of indecent dealing and grooming.

The details of how he spent 17 months preying on one of the boys, before his “opportunistic” offending where he molested both the target of his grooming and another boy at a birthday party, were read out.

Hincapie, born in Colombia, had been an Australian citizen for 23 years, serving as a priest for 14 years, first for the Catholic Church and then for the Anglican Church.

Celebrations at the time of his retirement were held in the Central Queensland town of Emerald where he had served as St Luke’s Anglican Church parish priest until 2017.

His time as a priest ended in disgrace that year following an investigation into an allegation of sexually inappropriate behaviour with an adult in 2011 when he was a priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wollongong.

The Hervey Bay court heard the offending towards the first boy in the most recent case had included inappropriate touching, offering to pay for extra-curricular activities and gifts.

Honorio Hincapie, 62, pleaded guilty in Hervey Bay District Court on Wednesday to several counts of indecent dealing and grooming.

On the night of the birthday party, Hincapie had inappropriately touched the boy.

He then offended against a second boy, massaging the boy’s leg before doing the same.

A similar incident involving the second boy occurred the next morning.

He then gave the boy $60 as a “belated birthday present”, the court heard.

When the boy texted his mother asking to be picked up, a family friend soon arrived to take him home.

He disclosed the abuse to his mother and the friend upon returning home.

When speaking to police later, Hincapie at first downplayed the offending and claimed the boys had welcomed his advances.

But in later interviews, he admitted he had sexually touched the first boy “many times” and felt a sexual fascination with boys of that age.

Hincapie described his behaviour as an “illness” and “evil”, the court heard.

The court heard Hincapie had served the community as a priest and felt “extremely shameful and remorseful” for what he had done.

Judge Suzanne Sheridan described Hincapie’s behaviour as a “complete breach of trust”.

“It was predatory and opportunistic,” she said.

“Your actions stole their innocence.”

Hincapie was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, suspended after a period of imprisonment of 10 months.

He was also ordered to spend three years on probation.