Notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale ‘likely’ to die in jail

The latest sentence handed down to depraved paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale for abusing his 70th and 71st victims could mean he will never again be a free man.

Australia’s most prolific paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale will spend an additional two years behind bars.

Australia’s most prolific paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale will spend an additional two years behind bars – and is now “overwhelmingly likely” to die in jail – after admitting to further horrific historical sexual crimes against young boys.

The sexual deviant, who was serving a 37-year sentence for abusing 69 victims, was sentenced in the County Court on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to 13 sexual offences.

The depraved child predator bowed his head and closed his eyes while his offences against his 70th and 71st victims were detailed by Judge Claire Quin.

At one point, the 88-year-old removed his glasses and seemingly wiped away a tear.

The court heard Ridsdale preyed upon two brothers while he was their priest at St Colman’s Catholic Church in Mortlake, near Warrnambool, in the early 1980s.

He told the older brother “this is your fault” and “look what you made me do” after he sexually abused him.

Gerald Ridsdale has abused 71 victims.

He also committed horrific sexual acts on the younger brother inside a confessional box and the presbytery shower.

Some of the offending against the siblings, aged 15 and 14, even took place while Ridsdale had been invited to their family home for dinner by their parents.

He threatened the young boys not to tell anyone.

“You won’t be believed. I’m the priest,” he told them.

In a victim impact statement, one of the brothers said he had a wife and children but his alcoholism drove them away.

“I’m 55 and live a solitary life knowing that life has passed me by,” he wrote.

The other lost his job as a teacher and has served a term of imprisonment.

However, Judge Quin said Ridsdale had declined to read the statements.

“The trust reposed in you as the parish priest meant that your access to the boys was not questioned,” Judge Quin said.

“The breach of trust effects these victims, their parents and the wider community.

“It’s corrosive, causing people to have less trust even of decent members of religious communities.”

Ridsdale was not charged with the “degrading” offending against the two boys, which included four counts of indecent assault and nine counts of sexual penetration of a child under 16, until March this year.

Father Gerald Ridsdale in 1993.

He appeared via video link from Hopkins Correctional Centre in Ararat, where he spends most of his time in “constant pain” at his cottage-style accommodation either bed-bound or in his wheelchair.

The court heard he contracted Covid this year and has experienced a “slow recovery”.

Judge Quin said Ridsdale had been assessed as falling into the “low risk” category for future sexual offending, due in part to his ameliorating age.

“You’re unlikely to lead a productive life on your release and it is … now overwhelmingly likely that you will die in custody.”

Ridsdale has been in prison since 1994 with multiple additional prosecutions increasing his jail term.

His defence lawyer pushed for Ridsdale to have any new punishment served concurrently with the sentence he was already serving, which was not due to expire until September 2031.

However, the 88-year-old took a sharp breath when Judge Quin handed down a total effective sentence of 6.5 years, with two years to be served in addition to his current term.

Ridsdale, if alive, will be eligible for parole as a 92-year-old in April 2027.