A PRIEST who allegedly witnessed predatory pedophile Gerald Ridsdale raping a young girl 40 years ago has been slammed by a judge, but the clergyman’s identity has been withheld from the public.

The Chief Judge of the County Court criticised the alleged witness priest — whose identity is known by the victim, court, Office of Police Prosecutions and Ridsdale’s lawyers.

But the judge refused a Herald Sun application for access to documents in which he is believed to be named.

In sentencing one of Australia’s most notorious pedophile priests to eight years in jail, Judge Michael Rozenes said: “Although it does not directly involve you, Mr Ridsdale, there is a further disturbing aspect to this incident, namely that this complainant believes another priest was present for a short time while you were sexually assaulting her and must have been aware of the assault but did not intervene.

“I raise this merely to make an observation: namely that this behaviour appears to be demonstrative of the church’s approach to sexual abuse at the time which ultimately — and unfortunately, for your victims — allowed your criminal behaviour to go unchecked for so long.’’

The Herald Sun has approached police and prosecutors about the identity of the priest understood to be named by the woman in her Victim Impact Statement.

One senior police officer said “Don’t even go there” when the Herald Sun put to him the identity several sources have told the paper is the priest.

The victim declined to name the priest, saying: “I’ve done everything I possibly can, I have to live with this, I’ve got a family to look after.’’

On Monday, the priest who the Herald Sun has been told is the person named by the victim as the witness, issued a statement to this newspaper.

In it, the priest said it was “a completely mistaken suggestion” that he witnessed the crime, “in the presbytery or anywhere else”.

“It is certainly mistaken to assert” that he “witnessed any such crime and failed to act”.

The priest said he “never saw any such thing at any time, and no such crime was ever reported” to him.

If he had witnessed the crime, or if it had been reported to him, he “would have acted immediately to report it to the police”, he said.

Broken Rites researcher Bernard Barrett said: “We are wondering who the priest is.”

“The public has a right to know,’’ he added.

Officers from Victoria Police’s SANO taskforce — which is investigating institutional sexual abuse — have repeatedly refused to confirm or deny the priest’s identity

when the Herald Sun has put his alleged name to them.

The Herald Sun believes it knows the identity of the priest but notes that the allegation against him relates to incidents occurring 40 years ago, and has not been tested in court.

Ridsdale pleaded guilty on March 18 to the rape of the girl, then 10 or 11, at St Alipius presbytery, Ballarat, in 1972 or ’73.

A summary of the court plea details: “In around 1972 or 1973 when (the victim) was aged 10 or 11 she was cutting up vegetables in the presbytery kitchen at the St Alipius Primary School.

“Ridsdale came in and said he had lots of shiny rocks to show her.” (The victim) remembers this was around the time of the VFL football grand final.’’

The court heard that Ridsdale then took her into his room, and showed her adult magazines. and she ran back into kitchen.

When she ran he chased her, grabbed her, told her to bend over and then raped her.

A summary said: “(She) believes that another priest living at the house at the time walked through the door to the hallway and exited out the back door as this occurred.

“She knows that this priest saw what was happening.’’

It was it is alleged the incident was never reported and Ridsdale, now 79, went on to abuse the girl for many more months until she finally moved away from the area.

He also went on to abuse dozens more children.

Following Ridsdale’s latest pleas, the total number of the disgraced ex-priest’s victims during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s has risen to 54.

Ridsdale, who has spent the past 20 years in jail, was yesterday sentenced by Judge Rozenes to eight years’ prison for his latest crimes, which involved 14 victims.

But since some of that sentence will be served concurrently with an existing jail term, he will remain behind bars for a maximum of only three extra years.

Ridsdale will be eligible for parole in 2019.

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News_Module: The Black List - Gerald Ridsdale