Christopher John Gott was hospitalised following a car accident in Brazil, more than 20 years after fleeing Australia

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

An Australian paedophile has died after spending more than a month in a coma following a car accident in Brazil.

Christopher John Gott, 63, was in April revealed to be in a Rio de Janeiro hospital, more than 20 years after fleeing Australia while on parole for child sex offences.

The press secretary of Rio de Janeiro’s municipal office of health authorities confirmed his death from multiple organ failure on Thursday, SBS reported.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing assistance to the family of a man who died in Brazil.

Gott made a new life in Brazil while on the run, fathering three foster children until his fake identity unravelled after a serious car crash. Gott was one of 18 people hit by a car on the Copacabana sidewalk, in a crash that killed an eight-month baby. Fingerprints led Australian authorities to properly identify him.

His foster children said they were shocked to learn of his secret past.

“Who’s not upset about this kind of accusation?” his foster son, Daniel, told Brazil’s Rede Globo TV program Fantastico in April. “That’s why it’s a very difficult thing for us – it’s complicated.”

Gott, a former school teacher, served two years in jail after pleading guilty in Darwin to 17 abuse charges involving five boys in 1994. He was released on parole conditions banning him having unsupervised contact with boys under 16.

He left the NT as part of his parole conditions and was due to arrive in Victoria by bus but fled during a stop in Adelaide. He was also sought for questioning by Victoria police over an indecent assault at a Fitzroy primary school in Melbourne in 1983.

NT police had been exploring the possibility of an extradition if his condition improved.