Two men who were abused by a paedophile priest in regional Victoria in the 1960s have reached landmark settlement agreements with the Catholic Church.
Key Points:
- Coffey, who died in 2013, was convicted of child sex abuse in 1999
- The settlements were not part of the 1999 prosecution against Coffey
- The two men who have received compensation say the money won’t erase the scars of his “sadistic, domineering” abuse
The two abuse survivors were abused by Father Bryan Coffey between 1965 and 1968 while he served as assistant priest in Port Fairy, in south-west Victoria.
The ABC understands the settlements are the first to be made in relation to Coffey, but about a dozen other victims have begun legal proceedings to seek compensation for his actions.
Coffey, who died in 2013, was convicted in 1999 of sexually abusing children, with the charges including abuse perpetrated while he was in Port Fairy.
However, the two matters the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat has settled out of court this week were not part of the 1999 criminal proceedings and have never been prosecuted.