Father Peter Grasby describes himself on a gay dating website as a 'well educated and really soft hearted mature GWM [gay white male]'. He was also accused in a Victorian parliamentary inquiry of allowing boys to sleep in his former presbytery at St Michael's in North Melbourne and of surrounding himself with a concerning number of young Vietnamese boys at St Mary Magdalen. The case of Father Grasby, who was placed on administrative leave in 2012, raises questions about the Melbourne Response, engineered by the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne to handle sexual abuse complaints, and the role it plays in allowing suspected serial offenders to go free on paid leave without supervision, a victim's support group says. According to his profile on a gay dating website Planetromeo, Father Grasby travelled to Kuching, a city in eastern Malaysia considered more liberal than much of the Islamic country, on January 23. Father Grasby says on his profile that he is a 66-year-old Catholic who "happens to like younger Asian men" aged from 18 to 35 but is "not on here looking for sex, because I am getting a bit too old to get hard!".

Father Grasby has been popular on gay dating site Planetromeo, with his profile visited 7907 times. The profile also lists details about his genitals and sexual preferences, and he describes himself as a "well-educated and really soft-hearted mature GWM [gay white male]." It is believed Father Grasby listed his location on Planetromeo as the "Kensington/North Melbourne region" - near where he had been suspected of abusing boys at St Michael's - before he moved to Malaysia. It appears Father Grasby has been popular on Planetromeo, with his profile showing it had been visited 7907 times. A former parishioner at St Mary Magdalen said he was stunned when he was contacted by Father Grasby on Planetromeo. The approach came before the priest left Melbourne.

On his Planetromeo profile, Father Grasby says he is a 66-year-old Catholic who 'happens to like younger Asian men'. The parishioner, who did not wish to be named, contacted the archdiocese and was told Father Grasby was on leave. While the priest probably contacted the parishioner randomly as his profile stated that he was Asian, Father Grasby continued his advances even after the parishioner said he used to attend his church. The parishioner was told by a friend that Father Grasby had also contacted him on other dating applications. The former parishioner was told by Father Grasby that he was no longer a priest, seemingly contradicting the position of the church.

"Although I virtually have left Catholicism, this incident definitely help solidify my decision," the former parishioner said. "I contacted the archdiocese right after finding out [because], given the allegations of church cover up, I wanted to know if Grasby was still a priest. "It showed that the Church was clearly covering up."

Helen Last, director of the In Good Faith Foundation, which provides support to the victims of church-related abuse, told the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations there had long been concerns about Father Grasby. She said it appeared Father Grasby was housed in the St Patrick's Cathedral presbytery, where many alleged abusers were sent, when he was between St Michael's and St Mary Magdalen during the 2000s. "I had people coming to me, telling me — knocking on my door and telling me — that he had too many young men coming in and out of the presbytery and actually sleeping there — and other things. "Whilst I was being told that, he was suddenly removed from North Melbourne and put in the St Patrick's Cathedral presbytery, where many men who are not behaving well spend quite a lot of time because it is very close to the administration systems, and they can be closely watched. Father Grasby, the former parish priest of St Mary Magdalen in Jordanville, near Chadstone, was placed on administrative leave in 2012.

"The parishioners [at Jordanville] are saying that so many Vietnamese boys have been surrounding him and coming in and out ... nothing else has been done for that parish." It is understood former parishioners and neighbours also raised concerns about the priest when it appeared a young homeless man was sleeping with him at the St Michael's presbytery. Ms Last said the handling of Father Grasby and priests like him was sadly far too common, and there was clear evidence that those on administrative leave required closer monitoring. The Melbourne Response has been repeatedly criticised for being less than transparent about revealing the identity of paedophile priests, and for paying inadequate compensation to victims. Under the response, complaints made to the archdiocese are investigated and, if proven, compensation is paid to the victim, on the condition that further claims cannot be made. Compensation is capped at $75,000.

When Father Grasby was placed on leave in 2012, Monsignor Greg Bennet, the vicar-general of the Melbourne archdiocese, said the priest denied the allegations and was assisting the church in an independent investigation. Parishioners attend morning mass at St Mary Magdalen in 2012, after Father Grasby was placed on leave. Credit:Michael Clayton-Jones The alleged victim had been urged to report the matter to police by the church, but had declined to do so and signed a document to confirm the decision, Monsignor Bennet said. The Age has confirmed that Father Grasby is not subject to any current police investigation. Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne spokesman Shane Healy confirmed Father Grasby remained on administrative leave.

He would not confirm whether Father Grasby had to comply with certain conditions while he was on leave, or whether the complaint made against the priest in 2012 had been proven. "He is without the faculties to function as a priest," Mr Healy said. Priests on administrative leave are given housing, or a housing allowance, and the same wages and insurance benefits they had been paid prior to the complaint. There are believed to be 30 priests - half of whom were convicted of child sex crimes, and the other half who are confirmed abusers but were not convicted - who are being given financial support by the archdiocese.

In 2014, during a hearing of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the archdiocese announced that it would conduct an independent review of the Melbourne Response. But the review by former Federal Court judge Donnell Ryan QC has not been released, despite being completed in September last year.