Notorious pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale back in court

A notorious pedophile priest has returned to court accused of assaulting two more boys three decades ago.

Pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale has been charged with the historical sexual abuse of two more boys.

Ridsdale appeared in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court via video link from Hopkins Correctional Facility on Monday charged with 24 offences dating back to the 1980s.

These include sexual penetration of a person between 10 to 16 and indecent assault.

The 87-year-old appeared for the virtual administrative hearing and told the court he could hear what was being said.

“I can hear you, yes,” Ridsdale told magistrate Peter Mellas.

There was also a momentary delay as the former Catholic priest waited for his lawyer to join the virtual hearing.

The latest charges relate to two victims from his time as a priest at Mortlake, in Victoria’s west, in the 1980s.

Ridsdale is serving a decades-long sentence for abusing up to 70 victims. He was ordained at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Ballarat in 1961 and worked at multiple parishes across Victoria. In 1993, he was defrocked as a priest.

Ridsdale will return to court in June.

NCA NEWSWIRE