Paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale dies while serving jail term for ...

One of Australia's most notorious and prolific paedophile priests, Gerald Ridsdale, has died at the age of 90.

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Ridsdale had been in prison since 1994 for the abuse of more than 70 children in central and south-western Victoria and was sentenced for the eighth time in 2023.

A further 62 new charges were then brought against Risdale in 2024.

Ridsdale was born in 1934 in the Wimmera region of Western Victoria.

The former Catholic priest served in parishes in western Victoria after being ordained in 1961, and served at 16 different parishes nationwide.

Over the next 30 years, Risdale was moved by the church to different parishes, following complaints detailing abuse.

Ridsdale was first sentenced over the abuse of children in his parish in 1993, pleading guilty to dozens of charges relating to the sexual abuse of 72 individuals.

Ridsdale's health failed in his final years, and he was only able to attend his court hearings via video link. 

In 2022, Ridsdale had a fall in his cell in Hopkins Correctional Centre, and was left lying on the floor for hours before he was found.

He was left bed-bound, suffering from chronic pain, atrophying muscles, and weakness of limbs.

Decades of abuse ignored by church

It was revealed during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that multiple members of the church were aware of his offending but had allowed it to continue.

A dark legacy that will echo for decades

Gerard Ridsdale's crimes changed Australia's legal system, shaped royal commissions and inquiries, and scarred a church once considered unimpeachable.

The commission found Ridsdale's victims likely stretched into the hundreds and that the late Cardinal George Pell was aware of the abuse by 1982.

That finding was strongly disputed by Pell, who had told the commission he did not learn of abuse allegations against Ridsdale until years later, in 1993.

Ridsdale would use his position in the church to befriend the families of his victims.

In a 2020 sentencing hearing, a judge said Ridsdale's crimes were so "corrosive" to the victims and the community, extra jail time was warranted.

"The breach of trust affects the victims, their parents and the wider community, both adherents to Catholicism and otherwise. It is corrosive, causing people to have less trust even of decent members of religious communities," he said.

Alison Geale, chief executive of child safety group Bravehearts, said the impact of Ridsdale's crimes on his victims would continue to linger long after his death.

"Gerald Ridsdale's death does not erase the immense suffering he inflicted on innocent children and their families. While some may see his passing as the end of a dark chapter, for survivors, the trauma and its impacts remain.

"Bravehearts stands with all those affected, reminding the world that justice is not just about the fall of an offender, but about ongoing support, recognition, and healing for survivors."