Michael Glennon (former priest)
Michael Charles Glennon (b. ca. 1944) is a convicted Australian paedophile and former Roman Catholic priest. He stands at the centre of one of the most notorious clergy sex abuse cases in that country. As of 2006, Glennon has been convicted of sexually abusing 15 children in court cases spanning 25 years.[1] Glennon ran a youth camp in Lancefield, Victoria, where most of the abuse took place.[2]
Glennon's Court Trials in the case
- In 1978 Glennon was convicted of sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl, and served a year in prison.[2] However he continued to run the camp, where he was the only adult present.[2]
- In 1984 he was acquitted of raping two boys, aged 11 and 13.
- In 1985 Glennon was charged with raping five boys and one girl, aged 12 to 16, all of them visitors to his camp during 1978-80.[3] He would not be convicted until 1991, and subsequently was able to continue running the camp during 1985.
- In 1991, Glennon was found guilty on the charges of indecent assault of children under 16 years, attempted buggery of a boy under 14 years, and buggery with violence.[3] He appealed his own conviction to the High Court, which found that despite the publicity, the trial was not unfair; the ruling overturned an acquittal by the Court of Criminal Appeal.[4]
- In 2003, Glennon was found guilty of 23 other offences against children, including rape, indecent assault, gross indecency, sexually penetrating a child aged between 10 and 16 and sexually penetrating a child under 10, but acquitted of one count of indecent assault.[1]
Derryn Hinch
- In 1985, radio commentator Derryn Hinch found that Glennon was to be tried on new charges, while still running the camp. Hinch, who was concerned that parents were unknowingly sending their children to Glennon's camp, first appealed privately to then Victoria Premier John Cain and the then-Attorney General, as well as the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Australia, but in Hinch's words, they "washed their hands" of the situation.[2] Subsequently Hinch publicly identified Glennon during his trial on the third set of charges, inspite of the strong sub judice rule under Australian jurisprudence. This delayed the trial, resulting in a conviction.[2] Hinch went to jail for contempt of court for 12 days and fined $10,000.[2]. This was the first time anyone had gone to jail on a prior restraint issue in Australia.[5]. Hinch appealed his case as far as the High Court of Australia, which affirmed his conviction. In its ruling the Court held that despite Hinch's motivation of warning the public that Glennon continued to hold a position in a youth organisation, it was sufficient to inform them of the current charges against him, and that the information about his prior conviction was prejudicial under Australian law.[4] Hinch calls the incident "the thing I'm most proud of in my life."[2]
References
- ^ a b Jewel Topsfield (10 October 2003). "Notorious pedophile guilty". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) Republished by the Poynter Institute. - ^ a b c d e f g "That's life for a radio survivor". The Fifth Estate: Media Analysis by RMIT Journalism. 15 June 2004. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Fergus Shiel (August 22 2002). "Straight shooter to hear complaints". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b The Law Reform Commission of Western Australia (March 2002). "Discussion Paper on Contempt by Publication" (PDF). Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
- ^ "Under the hammer". The Fifth Estate: Media Analysis by RMIT Journalism. 8 August 2004. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)