Update: 6 Aug 2014: All convictions quashed by Court of Appeal, Rapson free. see below.
Former Catholic priest found guilty of child sexual abuse dating back 30 years
A jury has convicted former Salesian College vice-principal David Rapson over the rape and abuse of eight students.
Rapson, 60, was member of the Salesians of Don Bosco religious order, which operated the Salesian College "Rupertswood", a boarding school in Sunbury, north-west of Melbourne, Australia.
He pleaded not guilty to eight charges of indecent assault and five counts of rape relating to the abuse of eight students, who were between 12 and 17 years of age, between the mid-1970s and 1990.
The court heard he would use computer games, soft drinks, alcohol and cigarettes to lure the young boys into his office, where he would sexually abuse them.
The jury was told on one occasion, a 12-year-old boy was given a glass of lemonade that made him feel sleepy. When he regained consciousness he had been raped.
In another case, a 16-year-old boy was given three-quarters of a bottle of scotch before he was indecently assaulted by Rapson.
One of the former students alleged he was raped by Rapson on four separate occasions in 1990.
Defence lawyer, Shaun Ginsbourg, said while Rapson had crossed the line by plying the children with cigarettes and alcohol, it did not make him a sex abuser.
The jury verdicts were unanimous on all charges, despite the defence arguing the charges were too old to prove.
Witness statements tendered in a previous court hearing revealed Rapson blamed God for his crimes.
One complainant recalled a number of boys being drugged with hot drinks and then assaulted in the infirmary in the 1970s.
He told police when another priest interrupted and told Rapson to restrain himself, he replied: "God made us this way and it's his fault."
It is not the first time the former priest has been convicted of child sex abuse under similar circumstances.
In 1992, he was sentenced to two years' jail after pleading guilty to abusing a 15-year-old boy at the Sunbury College in 1987.
The boy was a boarder in a dormitory that was supervised by Rapson and was offered alcohol and cigarettes before he was assaulted.
At the time of the 1992 court case, Rapson was still a member of the religious order.
It is understood he was stripped of his priesthood in 2004, 12 years after he was jailed as a convicted child molester.
Rapson's convictions were appealed on the basis that the 13 charges should have been heard separately. The appeals court agreed and quashed all his convictions. Rapson was set free pending a new trial, in a ruling that has devastated men who gave evidence in court against him.
The latest ruling was a major blow for the eight men who testified in Rapson's trial, and who might now have to return to the witness stand to have their allegations tested again in court.
"I'm bloody dumbfounded, I don't know what to say. I'm absolutely gutted. I was told by the police and the OPP that if I came forward and told the truth, I'd only have to do it once," one man told Fairfax Media.
"You understand why others are reluctant to come forward, when they make decisions like this."
Another of the men said Rapson's conviction last year had brought closure for him and his family, and that he was "shattered" at the thought of having to give evidence again.
"We were relieved when he was convicted and I don't want to have to go through all that again or for my mum to have to hear all that again. I'd definitely be p----- off if I have to go through that all again," he said.
The OPP was obliged to concede Rapson should not have faced only the one trial because of a finding the Court of Appeal made in a separate case earlier this month.
Court of Appeal president Justice Chris Maxwell and his colleagues, justices Geoffrey Nettle and David Beach, agreed it would be the presiding judge's decision on how many trials Rapson faced.
Crown prosecutor Peter Kidd, SC, said three trials should be held. But Paul Holdenson, QC, representing Rapson, said eight trials were needed, one for each of the complainants.
Mr Holdenson said different "modus operandi" were alleged during the trial, ranging from Rapson molesting a boy while the child was in bed, using alcohol, cigarettes and computer games to lure others to his office before they were assaulted, to sexual assaults of a violent nature.
Rapson, who was later defrocked by Pope John Paul II, was not in court on Wednesday.
A date for his return to the County Court is yet to be set.
Former Catholic priest found guilty of child sexual abuse dating back 30 years
A jury has convicted former Salesian College vice-principal David Rapson over the rape and abuse of eight students.
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| David Rapson |
He pleaded not guilty to eight charges of indecent assault and five counts of rape relating to the abuse of eight students, who were between 12 and 17 years of age, between the mid-1970s and 1990.
The court heard he would use computer games, soft drinks, alcohol and cigarettes to lure the young boys into his office, where he would sexually abuse them.
The jury was told on one occasion, a 12-year-old boy was given a glass of lemonade that made him feel sleepy. When he regained consciousness he had been raped.
In another case, a 16-year-old boy was given three-quarters of a bottle of scotch before he was indecently assaulted by Rapson.
One of the former students alleged he was raped by Rapson on four separate occasions in 1990.
Defence lawyer, Shaun Ginsbourg, said while Rapson had crossed the line by plying the children with cigarettes and alcohol, it did not make him a sex abuser.
The jury verdicts were unanimous on all charges, despite the defence arguing the charges were too old to prove.
Witness statements tendered in a previous court hearing revealed Rapson blamed God for his crimes.
One complainant recalled a number of boys being drugged with hot drinks and then assaulted in the infirmary in the 1970s.
He told police when another priest interrupted and told Rapson to restrain himself, he replied: "God made us this way and it's his fault."
It is not the first time the former priest has been convicted of child sex abuse under similar circumstances.
In 1992, he was sentenced to two years' jail after pleading guilty to abusing a 15-year-old boy at the Sunbury College in 1987.
The boy was a boarder in a dormitory that was supervised by Rapson and was offered alcohol and cigarettes before he was assaulted.
At the time of the 1992 court case, Rapson was still a member of the religious order.
It is understood he was stripped of his priesthood in 2004, 12 years after he was jailed as a convicted child molester.
Rapson's convictions were appealed on the basis that the 13 charges should have been heard separately. The appeals court agreed and quashed all his convictions. Rapson was set free pending a new trial, in a ruling that has devastated men who gave evidence in court against him.
The latest ruling was a major blow for the eight men who testified in Rapson's trial, and who might now have to return to the witness stand to have their allegations tested again in court.
"I'm bloody dumbfounded, I don't know what to say. I'm absolutely gutted. I was told by the police and the OPP that if I came forward and told the truth, I'd only have to do it once," one man told Fairfax Media.
"You understand why others are reluctant to come forward, when they make decisions like this."
Another of the men said Rapson's conviction last year had brought closure for him and his family, and that he was "shattered" at the thought of having to give evidence again.
"We were relieved when he was convicted and I don't want to have to go through all that again or for my mum to have to hear all that again. I'd definitely be p----- off if I have to go through that all again," he said.
The OPP was obliged to concede Rapson should not have faced only the one trial because of a finding the Court of Appeal made in a separate case earlier this month.
Court of Appeal president Justice Chris Maxwell and his colleagues, justices Geoffrey Nettle and David Beach, agreed it would be the presiding judge's decision on how many trials Rapson faced.
Crown prosecutor Peter Kidd, SC, said three trials should be held. But Paul Holdenson, QC, representing Rapson, said eight trials were needed, one for each of the complainants.
Mr Holdenson said different "modus operandi" were alleged during the trial, ranging from Rapson molesting a boy while the child was in bed, using alcohol, cigarettes and computer games to lure others to his office before they were assaulted, to sexual assaults of a violent nature.
Rapson, who was later defrocked by Pope John Paul II, was not in court on Wednesday.
A date for his return to the County Court is yet to be set.
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