Former Australian priest Gerald Ridsdale, already serving a lengthy prison sentence for child sex abuse, has admitted guilt in yet another case, bringing his total number of victims to 72. The 89-year-old, incarcerated since 1994, appeared via video link from a prison hospital due to his deteriorating health. He pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a 13-year-old boy in 1987 while serving as an assistant priest at a Horsham school.

This latest conviction marks Ridsdale's 193rd for child sex abuse, adding to a series of offenses committed between 1961 and 1988 during his time as a Roman Catholic priest in Victoria. His sentence has been repeatedly extended over the years as more victims have bravely come forward. Most recently, in October, his potential release date was pushed back to April 2027 after he confessed to abusing two brothers.

Ridsdale's lawyer informed the court that the former priest has been unable to walk since mid-2022 and is now under consideration for palliative care. While the specific medical details were not disclosed, Ridsdale acknowledged that further imprisonment is the only suitable consequence for this latest conviction. Sentencing is scheduled for August 15.

Ridsdale's decades-long career as a priest saw him transferred between 16 different church positions. A 2017 government inquiry into child sex abuse concluded that these frequent relocations were part of a systematic effort by the church to conceal his crimes. The inquiry also revealed that the late Cardinal George Pell, once a high-ranking Vatican official, was aware of Ridsdale's abusive behavior years before his arrest, a claim Pell denied. The Pell and Ridsdale families had close ties in Victoria. Pell himself served time in prison for child abuse convictions that were later overturned, and he passed away in January.