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Allegations of Sexual
Abuse |
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News Reports 2004 |
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If it were not for the dogged
detective work of a young victim, paedophile priest Alan Woodcock may never
have been apprehended The first known victim of
paedophile priest Alan Woodcock had to turn detective and hunt down his
offender himself when the police doubted his story. The shy 17-year-boy from Rangiora
-- who we will call Paul -- spent hours combing city streets for the older
man who had befriended him in the When he finally spotted Woodcock's
light green If it were not for Paul's dogged
detective work, Woodcock may never have been apprehended for his early sexual
offending. Paul's big breakthrough came when
he discovered Woodcock's Questioned by police, Woodcock
admitted his sexual relations with Paul, but claimed it had been consensual. Woodcock was convicted of indecent
assault the next month, receiving a suspended sentence. But it is now known from his
latest court appearance this week that the rogue priest had offended prior to
Paul's assault. Woodcock had tried to remove the pants of a fourth-form boy
in Hastings who he lured into his car in 1978. (The boy kicked up a fuss in
the car, but did not report the incident.) Woodcock would carry on offending
for almost a decade, creating multiple victims in multiple towns, as the
Society of Mary Order practised the "geographical cure" -- shunting
him about in response to complaints. Woodcock had denied all the
allegations while battling extradition from His legacy of betrayal and harm
finally caught up with him in the Upper Hutt District Court on Monday, when
he admitted 21 charges relating to the abuse of 11 boys from 1978 to 1987
when teaching in Today, in his Rimutaka Prison
cell, Woodcock awaits sentencing. His final fall brings no comfort
to Paul's "They (church officials) are
partly to blame because they allowed Woodcock the opportunity," said his
mother. "It has been covered up and
it's done Woodcock more harm than good," said his father. Paul's answering the call of
nature while on a visit to He headed for the underground
public toilets in "He came across as pretty
caring," recalls Paul, now 42. The conversation continued in the
Square, where Paul said he had to catch a bus to Rangiora. "I still remember him saying
that he was a Catholic priest and that he would take me to Rangiora. I
believed him because I thought they were all trustworthy and representatives
of God." Instead Woodcock, who was studying
music at "The room had lots of books
in it. He started fiddling around with me. I said `no'. I was scared if I
made a run for it he might shoot me or something like that," said Paul.
"He wanted me to fiddle him as well. I didn't know anything about what
he was trying to do." After the assault Paul recalls
sitting in stunned silence as Woodcock drove him back to Rangiora. Paul went
directly to the police with his complaint that evening. But he felt two city
detectives were sceptical about his story when they drove him around
unfamiliar Riccarton streets trying to jog his memory of where he was taken. "We were going around and
around ... they basically accused me of wasting their time," said Paul. Undeterred, he returned with his
mother and his brother, trying to locate Woodcock and his house. Coincidentally, on one of the
trips Woodcock drove past in his Paul's mother rang police with the
details. "Nothing happened for a while. Then the police got back and
said you must have been wrong. That's a minister of religion's car," she
said. "We couldn't believe it. All the time our son was being tortured
because nobody believed him." But Paul sprung Woodcock soon
after, when he returned to his car in the Square to find police waiting. Under questioning, Woodcock said
he felt attracted to Paul whom, he thought, had responded. Woodcock's counsel told the court
there was a psychiatric background to the offence. He succeeded in
suppressing his client's name -- but not his occupation. Paul's father was in court to hear
Woodcock get his suspended sentence. "I followed him out of the
courtroom and into This time, they feel sure Woodcock
has earned a lengthy jail term. "He needs to go back to the
cesspool where he came from," said Paul's mother. But they want the church to accept
responsibility for shifting Woodcock like pastoral tumbleweed in response to
mounting complaints. "Disappointment is an under-statement," said
Paul's mother. "It's just sickening." So was the church's response to
their son's complaint. Bishop John Cunneen, who was the
family's parish priest in Rangiora at the time, visited once after the
assault and expressed regret. Despite Cunneen's ongoing
involvement with the family, the incident was not mentioned for more than 20
years, nor were there offers of counselling or support. Paul said he does not know who to
trust these days. He has problems forming relationships and keeping jobs. He
is often bullied, is paranoid about gay men coming near him. His relationship
with his family is strained. He has moved from Two years ago Paul and his mother
met Cunneen to confront him over his handling of the case. The mother said Cunneen, whom she
regarded as a family friend, greeted them warmly and expressed genuine regret
at the lack of action. He explained that he had passed the matter on to the
order concerned and thought they had followed it up. He was sorry to learn
they had not. He had not approached them since, not wanting to "open old
wounds". He organised for the Society of
Mary to visit the family soon after the meeting, and this time counselling
was offered. But it was too little, 23 years too late. Last August the parents went to
lawyer Patrick McPherson, who is helping them negotiate compensation from the
church. They want money to help their scarred son get on with his life and
above all, they seek closure. McPherson said it was a drawn- out
process, despite having proof -- a conviction -- that Woodcock offended
against Paul. "... We would have thought
that addressing the needs of the victim ... would be a priority but ... our
dealings with the society seem to be treated as an annoyance," said
McPherson. "We find it unacceptable ... for a victim to have to wait two
years and for the victim to have to ... continually push the issue." Society of Mary Provincial Father
Dennis O'Hagan sounded jaded yesterday, after a flurry of media calls.
"I only can say that I am deeply sorry that we did not respond more
rapidly. I have nothing more to say really," he said.
1972: Woodcock ordained as a priest in the Society of Mary Order. 1978: Sexually abused a fourth form boy at 1979: Woodcock sent to 1980: Moved to 1981: Appointed to St Patrick's College in Silverstream, 1982: Woodcock allowed to complete the year at St Patrick's. 1983: Appointed to Highden noviate, a school for young priests in
Palmerston North, where he continued to offend. 1984: The church moved him to Futuna, a Catholic retreat in Karori, 1985: Sent back to Highden. 1986: Sent to St John of God Hospital in 1987: The father of one of the Futuna victims complained to the
church about the abuse. 1988: Sent to 1990: He moved to 1992: Abandoned the Society of Mary. 1994: St Patrick's College pupil Terry Carter complained to police
about Woodcock. He also complained to the church, saying he wanted to be sure
Woodcock no longer had access to children. When Carter went to the media the
church consulted Judge Peter Trapski for advice. The former chief district
court judge advised the church to place "confidential material"
about Woodcock into a separate envelope within his employment file, labelled
"secret". 1995: A second St Patrick's boy came forward, complaining of abuse
in 1982. 2000: Woodcock formally "defrocked" by the church. 2002: Publicity surrounding the settlement of a six-year civil court
case with Terry Carter brought forward more Woodcock victims and police
sought to extradite him from 2004: Woodcock extradited from -------------------- CAPTION: Shattered: "Paul", a
victim of convicted paedophile priest Alan Woodcock, had his life ruined by
the experience and is now fighting for compensation. Alan Woodcock
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