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Accusations of Abuse in Institutions

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One News
August 10, 2002

Friend of ex-priest speaks

A friend of the former Catholic priest who is in prison in England awaiting an extradition application to New Zealand for sex crimes has spoken out for the first time, describing him as a man he trusted and respected.

Allan Woodcock has been accused of sex assaults against schoolboys, allegedly committed in Wellington during the 1980s.

His friend and flatmate in London spoke exclusively to One News of his surprise and sadness at the revelations surrounding his former colleague's arrest.

Woodcock's former flatmate, who wished only to be known as Bob, says he never talked about his past.

"What happened in New Zealand was complete news to me. I had no idea till a week ago. Having discovered the information over the last week. The only way I can put that into perspective is that he had taken steps towards building a new life."

Bob, a forensic social worker worked with Woodcock for four years after he was hired as a counsellor at a centre at Heathrow Airport offering support to those with anything from a fear of flying to general life issues.

"He didn't in my experience try to build any inappropriate relationships with them," he says.

Bob shared a two bedroom south London flat with Woodcock for a year.

"The person I know is someone I respected and trusted. Someone, I would be happy to work with again."

But after the former Wellington priest lost his job following a wave of redundancies last Christmas his life took a turn for the worse.

"He was losing the plot and that's why I thought he needed to get away. The time I was talking to him I didn't know the whole story so I was talking in the dark."