Notorious pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale bed-bound and considered for palliative care

A lawyer for pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale has revealed he may soon be in palliative care as he pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a 72nd victim.

Gerald Ridsdale’s health is deteriorating in prison. Picture: Geoff Ampt

Australia’s most notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale is bed-bound and could soon be in palliative care, as he admitted sexually abusing his 72nd known victim.

The 89-year-old appeared frail, lying in a bed and with a blanket pulled over him as he beamed into Ballarat Magistrates’ Court via video link from prison on Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a 13-year-old boy in Horsham in the 1980s.

Ridsdale’s lawyer told the pre-sentence hearing his client’s health had sharply deteriorated since early 2021 and he was now bed-bound, required a hoist to move and was being considered for palliative care.

“He’s been in custody from the age of about 70,” he said.

“All the current indications are that he will die in jail.”

Gerald Ridsdale has admitted to sexually abusing his 72nd known victim.

The court heard Ridsdale fondled the genitalia of a student over his clothing at St Brigid’s College in Horsham where he was working as an assistant priest in the late 1980s.

Ridsdale told the boy “it’s alright” as he touched him before the victim quickly left the room.

The boy, now in his 40s, did not provide a victim impact statement but told police he felt lucky compared to Ridsdale’s other victims.

“I feel like if I stood there, I would have been another one of those that didn’t move,” he said.

“I feel like I dodged a bullet, it’s nothing compared to what happened to other kids.”

Ridsdale’s lawyer said his client was housed at Hopkins Correctional Centre in Ararat but was moved to Port Phillip Prison after he suffered a fall late last year.

He asked magistrate Hugh Radford to consider imposing a concurrent sentence given Ridsdale’s ailing health and short life expectancy, adding his client had acknowledged some of the harm he had caused.

The latest conviction brings Ridsdale’s total number of victims to 72 over a period of nearly 30 years between 1961 to 1988.

Ridsdale, who is serving a 39-year jail term on 192 charges, has been in prison since 1994 with his sentence extended seven times after more victims came forward.

He will return to court for sentence on August 15.