Man says he was abused at George Town church in 1970s as lawyers call for witnesses

A Tasmanian man has come forward to claim he suffered extreme child sexual abuse at the hands of two George Town priests – in a church sacristy – during the 1970s.

Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church at George Town, Tasmania. Picture: Google Maps

A Tasmanian man has come forward to claim he suffered extreme child sexual abuse at the hands of two George Town priests during the 1970s.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, says the priests both abused him at the Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish church, specifically in the sacristy – a room where a priest traditionally prepares for mass and stores ritualistic items like their robes, chalice and holy water.

The man said, via his law firm Maurice Blackburn, that he was aged about 12 at the time.

The law firm is still in the early, investigatory stages of the claim and has not yet filed a lawsuit, but has put out a call-out for witnesses who attended the church’s attached primary school between 1974 and 1982.

“I just thought where there’s smoke, there’s likely to be fire, and there’s likely more people out there who know something about this abuse,” lawyer Zoe Papageorgiou told the Mercury.

“So that’s why we’ve put out the witness call-out.

“They still seem to be esteemed or recognised by the church (but) it’s very rare for a priest to offend just once, unfortunately.”

It is believed both of the priests are now deceased – one having died in the 1990s and one more recently.

The Star of the Sea Catholic school at George Town, Tasmania. Picture: Google Maps

Ms Papageorgiou said since the law firm had placed a call-out on Monday, it had been inundated with phone calls.

She said while the two priests had never faced criminal charges during their lifetimes, it had seemingly been “well-known in the community” that they had been predators.

“What’s interesting about this parish is it appears there were two offending priests, in succession of one before the other,” Ms Papageorgiou said.

So the scope of abuse could have extended from the first priest’s placement across to the second priest’s placement, running well over a decade of potentially undetected abuse.”

She thanked those who had called in with information, including a call from another alleged victim-survivor.

“The community call-in is very much appreciated and so much counts of that because there’s so little documentary evidence,” Ms Papageorgiou said.

“It’s extremely helpful for these cases and for the survivors wanting to take legal action.”

The Archdiocese of Hobart, which has oversight over the Catholic church and school, has been contacted for comment.

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