NEWCASTLE, Australia—An Australian archbishop has become most the senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse.
A New South Wales court found Wilson guilty of concealing acts of child sexual abuse by priest Jim Fletcher in the 1970s. At the time, Wilson was an assistant parish priest in East Maitland, NSW, according to the ABC.
South Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic Church official is facing jail after he was convicted of landmark charges that he covered up a paedophile priest colleague’s sexual abuse of altar boys. https://t.co/6hQvspDrKT
— The Daily Telegraph (@dailytelegraph) May 22, 2018
Magistrate Robert Stone handed down the verdict against Archbishop Wilson in Newcastle Local Court, north of Sydney, on Tuesday following a magistrate-only trial.
The 67-year-old had pleaded not guilty to the charges. He faces a potential two-year prison sentence.
Additional reporting by NTD staff
