Australia: Anglican Church 'swept child sex abuse under carpet'

Sean Fewster
December 15, 2010

ANGLICAN priest Wilfred Dennis was fired after being convicted of indecent assault but was welcomed back by the church just 12 months later.

Within five years, the sexual predator molested an altar boy left in his care and went on to abuse two more people in the months that followed.

Yesterday, District Court Judge Paul Rice said the reason Dennis was able to prey on the young was because the church had "swept" his previous crimes "under the carpet".

"So indecent assault is all right, is it?" he asked.

"That's the only conclusion one can come to, that the Anglican Church thought indecent assault was OK but if it was something more serious, it may have a different view. the rest