Ray Pethybridge: Salvos chaplain found guilty of ‘opportunistic’ child sex abuse

An elderly former Salvation Army chaplain has been found guilty of sexually abusing five little girls over an almost-30 year period.

A former Salvation Army chaplain who preyed on little girls has been found guilty of sickening child abuse offences and labelled “foolish” by a judge – after consistently claiming the assaults never happened.

Despite 90-year-old Ray Pethybridge denying the allegations and his wife “doggedly” defending him on the stand, Judge Alister Abadee this week found him guilty of 11 historic sexual offences against children whose parents were friends of his and part of the Salvation Army.

“None of the complainants knew each other (apart from two who were sisters), so there could be no collusion or contamination (of evidence),” Judge Abadee said.

Raymond Pethybridge leaves the Downing Centre in Sydney this week. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

“Mr Pethybridge had a sexual interest in young females and a tendency to act on that in circumstances where there was a significant risk of detection.

“ … The chance of coincidence is so remote the only answer is that he acted in that way.”

The court heard Pethybridge preyed upon five girls between 1958 and 1987, and would assault them at his home or their homes in situations where there was a “high risk of detection”.

Judge Abadee labelled his offending as “opportunistic” and a serious breach of trust, using his respected position to his advantage to assault the girls.

“A common theme among the complainants was their fear in speaking up, that their word would not be believed, even by their own parents who were so immersed in the activities of The Salvation Army in particular and admiring, to the point of being enthralled, by (Pethybridge),” he said.

In 2018, he was found guilty of the offences, however, the Court of Criminal Appeal allowed his appeal and quashed the convictions.

It was found he was unfit to be tried again in accordance with normal procedures and a judge-alone special hearing took place under Judge Abadee, who this week found him guilty of 11 charges and acquitted him of two, finding his five victims’ evidence was “compelling”.

Ray Pethybridge will be sentenced later this year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

Pethybridge denied the assaults ever happened, with Judge Abadee labelling his evidence as “implausible” and “at times foolish”.

“A fundamental problem with the defendant’s evidence was its adamant nature,” he said.

“So often, his evidence that events ‘never’ happened was controverted by actual evidence to the contrary and the inherent probabilities.”

He also slammed the evidence of Mr Pethybridge’s wife, saying she was “determined to tell a narrative of events”.

“She was there to doggedly defend her husband,” he said.

“I regret to say that by the end of her evidence, I formed the view that Mrs Pethybridge would say anything if she felt that it would assist the defendant’s case.”

The court heard he told some of the girl’s to keep the assaults a “secret” and threatened that one of them would be “sent to a children’s home” if she told anyone.

Pethybridge will be sentenced later this year, with the court hearing multiple reports regarding his health needed to be prepared for the judge.

Meantime, his son Kelvin Pethybridge and his wife Cheralynne remain significantly involved in the Salvation Army.