Why judge is ‘unsurprised’ former church minister Christopher Coleborn molested boy
A church minister who molested a young parishioner struggled with his same sex attraction but had been “doctrinally prohibited” from safely exploring his sexuality, a court has heard.
Police & Courts
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A judge has declared it was “perhaps unsurprising” that a church minister who molested a little boy committed his crime as he was “doctrinally prohibited from exploring his sexuality in a safe way”.
Christopher Coleborn, 76, pleaded guilty to two historic sex offences against a boy who was a parishioner, when the victim was aged 13 and again when he was 18.
The former Cohuna Evangelical Presbyterian Church minister kissed his wife before he stepped into the dock in the County Court on Friday, where he was taken into custody before his sentencing next month.
The court heard that both assaults occurred at the minister’s Burkes Bridge home on the Victorian/NSW border, when he crept into a bedroom where the boy was sleeping, in the late 90s and early 2000s.
The little boy “pretended to be asleep” during the first assault, and the next day was playing with Lego when the minister told him, “even adults make mistakes, and if I have done something to hurt you, I am sorry”.
But on the second occasion, the boy, then 18, punched Coleborn in the face, then hunted him down and found him walking outside in the dead of night.
“Once can be a mistake, but twice is an addiction,” the boy told the minister, then aged 58, who replied that he “had a real problem” and started seeing a psychologist after the first offence.
Coleborn confessed to his church in 2020 after his victim came forward, stating his crimes were not due to him “being a minor”, rather that, “I have had struggles with sexual matters since my earliest memories”.
Judge Simon Moglia said Coleborn had “struggled to deal with same sex attraction”.
“It’s perhaps unsurprising that in a setting where persons such as Mr Coleborn is unsupported and doctrinally prohibited from exploring his sexuality in a safe way that we see conduct like this,” His Honour said.
Judge Moglia told the court he was “not suggesting the church is to blame in any way”, but said the community should realise the issue.
“I don’t make those comments in an attempt to reduce responsibility of Mr Coleborn or justify his conduct in any way,” he said.
His Honour noted that the church reacted swiftly when it learned of the offending, providing police with a recorded meeting with Coleborn where he admitted “my sins which have been heinous and grievous against (the victim).”
“It did the right thing, it supported everybody in its public inquiry,” Judge Moglia said of the church.
“That’s a demonstration that that part of the community has learned something.”
The court heard Coleborn emailed his victim in September 2020, writing: “It was a very tragic thing that I committed against you.”
“I have prayed regularly for you over the 15 or so years since those trespasses against you occurred,” he said.
“Since the time of the offences against you, I have deeply regretted the hurt they brought to you, and while apologising to you for my sins against you at the time.
“I assure you that before I committed those two offences against you, and since then, I have not done any such thing.”
Barrister Matt Fisher, for the prosecution, said while there was no impact statement submitted to the court by the victim, that he had “suffered as a result of this and will continue to for some time”.
Mr Fisher called for “immediate jail” for the man who had pleaded guilty to one count of sexual penetration against a child aged under 16, and one count of indecent assault.
But defence barrister Patrick O’Halloran said there was capacity for a suspended sentence, and noted Coleborn’s acceptance of responsibility for his offending, his chronic fatigue and bronchitis.
He said the retired minister, who now lives in Tasmania, no longer attends church and doesn’t have contact with any of his grandchildren.
Coleborn will remain in custody and return to court on November 10 to be sentenced.
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