One of Australia’s worst pedophiles, defrocked Catholic priest Gerald Ridsdale, has died aged 90.
Ridsdale, convicted of abusing more than 70 children over three decades died on Feb. 18 in the morning while in prison.
His appalling history of child abuse began in 1961, the same year he was ordained as a priest.
He spent the next three decades abusing dozens of children across regional Victoria, often using his privileged status as a priest to earn the trust of his victims and their families.
Ridsdale had been in prison since 1994 for the abuse of more than 70 children in Victoria.
He was also accused of abusing children in New South Wales and the United States, where he underwent church-connected sex offender treatment.
He was later charged with multiple other offences stemming from Sano Taskforce investigations, set up by Victoria Police to investigate historical and new allegations of child sexual abuse involving religious and non-government organisations.
Those numerous charges and court appearances garnered him the moniker of Australia’s worst pedophile priest.
At Ridsdale’s 1994 plea hearing, witnesses told how he was moved from one parish to another when claims of abuse were raised.
The 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found those claims were true and confirmed that those high up in the church had made decisions to shift Ridsdale to other parishes following allegations of child abuse to avoid scandal.
It found that the Diocese of Ballarat had known of Ridsdale’s proclivities since the 1960s and there was no question that by 1982 then-bishop of Ballarat Ronald Mulkearns knew of Ridsdale’s offending.
He admitted to another eight sexual assault charges against children as recently as August last year.
Ridsdale, who was born in Ballarat, appeared frail during his last court appearance and had been excused from attending his most recent mentions.
During the last hearing he attended, the court was told Ridsdale was in chronic pain and was likely to go into palliative care.
He was not asked to speak during the hearing except for his plea, to which he replied “I’m guilty.”
He had been too unwell to attend previous hearings for offences in the regional Victorian towns of Inglewood, Ballarat, Apollo Bay, Horsham and Mortlake between 1973 and 1981.
Ridsdale was serving a maximum of 40 years in prison after previously pleading guilty to sexually abusing at least 72 children during the 1970s and 1980s while working as a Catholic priest at multiple schools and churches across Victoria.
He had a fall in November 2022 and was bedridden, suffering chronic pain, muscle wasting and weak limbs.
