Archbishop Philip Wilson found guilty of concealing child sex abuse

One of Australia’s most senior Catholics, Archbishop Philip Wilson, has been found guilty of concealing child sex abuse.

Archbishop Wilson faced a two-week trial after being charged in 2015. Picture: AAP

The most senior Catholic official to be charged with concealing child sex abuse has been found guilty, in a landmark decision that could have a wide-ranging impact on future prosecutions.

Adelaide Archbishop Philip Edward Wilson, 67, bowed his head slightly as Magistrate Robert Stone told a packed courtroom in Newcastle his decision.

“I find the offence proved,” Mr Stone said as several people wept.

Wilson faced a eight-day trial earlier this year after being charged in March, 2015, with one count of concealing a serious indictable offence. The charge carries a maximum penalty of two-year imprisonment.

In a statement released by Adelaide Catholic officials after the decision, Wilson said he was considering his legal options.

“I am obviously disappointed at the decision published today,” he said.

“I will now have to consider the reasons and consult closely with my lawyers to determine the next steps. I do not propose to make any further comment at this stage.”

The prosecution had alleged the Archbishop knew late pedophile priest James Patrick Fletcher had indecently assaulted Hunter Valley man Peter Creigh when he was a 10-year-old altar boy, and that despite knowing that information, he failed to assist police in prosecuting Fletcher.

Mr Creigh told the court that in 1976, when he was 15, he told Wilson what Fletcher had done to him years earlier in 1971. Mr Creigh claims he raised the matter again with Wilson months later but nothing was done.

When Fletcher was sentenced in late 2004 with sexually abusing an altar boy, it’s alleged then Wilson should have had knowledge or belief that Mr Creigh was the victim of a serious offence committed by Fletcher, based on what he had been told in 1976. Fletcher died in jail in 2006.

Daniel Feenan, one of the prosecution’s witnesses in the trial who broke down when the decision was announced, said outside court the decision moved him closer to closure.

“It is vindicating knowing that if this bloke had have done something in 1976, which is the year that I was born, my life would have been a lot different than it is today,” he said. I’m very happy with the result. Everyone can see, he is guilty.”

Mr Stone this morning found it was “incomprehensible” Wilson did not remember some detail of the allegations, which concerned his then-housemate Fletcher.

“Any allegation perpetrated on young boys by someone you have lived with is going to remain with you, no matter how long,” he said.

“The accused must have known he had very relevant knowledge. Further, he should have realised he had knowledge of a number of boys who had complained to him... I am satisfied the accused had information that he knew or believed that might be of assistance.”

Mr Stone also found Mr Creigh to be an honest and reliable witness, and that several witnesses came from “very believable” churchgoing families.

He further said he was satisfied Mr Creigh had described the incidents of abuse to Archbishop Wilson.

The magistrate did note Wilson was not involved in the assaults and that Fletcher did not admit his acts to him directly.

The months and years leading to trial in a Newcastle Local Court this year were legally finicky. Wilson’s legal team made four attempts to have the case thrown out, arguing it was not in the public interest and that his eventual diagnosis of Alzheimer’s should preclude him from trial. The diagnosis, however, did not preclude him from retaining his position in the church.

Wilson was granted bail on the condition that he attend court on June 19, where submissions will be made by both parties around a sentence.

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, responded to the decision in a statement this afternoon.

“Archbishop Philip Wilson has today been found guilty of failing to inform police about allegations of child sexual abuse. Archbishop Wilson maintained his innocence throughout this long judicial process. It is not yet clear if he will appeal the verdict,” he said.

“The Catholic Church, like other institutions, has learned a great deal about the tragedy of child sexual abuse and has implemented stronger programs, policies and procedures to protect children and vulnerable adults. The safety of children and vulnerable adults is paramount for the Church and its ministries.”

Peter Fox, the retired Newcastle detective who arrested Jim Fletcher in 2003, said he was “delighted” with the verdict.

“For myself, and for Fletcher’s victims and their families, I have a great sense of relief,” Mr Fox said.

“It’s been an ordeal for them that has already lasted decades, but there’s a sense of relief with this verdict. I think all the survivors of Fletcher’s abuse feel that way this morning.”

Mr Fox said the verdict brought mixed feelings for some victims because they might have been spared the abuse had Archbishop Wilson reported it when he became aware of it in 1976.

“It depends of course on who Wilson might have reported his knowledge to,” Mr Fox said.

“If he had gone to the police, Fletcher could have been arrested and charged, and his later victims including Daniel Feenan would have been spared the agony they’ve lived with for all these years,” Mr Fox said.

“If he had reported what he knew to his bishop at the time, Leo Clarke, or to another senior clergyman, it might not have come to anything.

“We’ve had a special commission of inquiry and the royal commission up here in recent years and it’s plain from the evidence that Clarke was more interested in his church’s reputation than he was in the safety and welfare of children.”

Bishop Clarke came to the Newcastle-Maitland diocese in 1976, having previously served as secretary to Melbourne archbishop Sir Frank Little, who had knowledge of widespread sexual abuse by his priests over two decades but never reported one to the authorities.

With David Brearley