An 85-year-old priest standing trial on alleged offences
A Canberra priest (Father Edward Evans, aged 85) began facing a trial
in the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court on 25 March 2015. He
is charged with alleged offences against a child in the 1990s. Father
Evans is based in Canberra, where he has been acting as a chaplain to
the German-speaking community. Among other duties, Father Evans has been
associated with St Patrick's Catholic Church in Braddon (Canberra),
where German-language Masses have been conducted on Sundays. Fr Evans was interviewed by police in 2013 and was charged with three
acts of indecency between 1994 and 1997. He was accused of indecently
touching a girl three times, twice when she was between 11 and 12, and a
third time when she was 13. He has pleaded not guilty to the
allegations.
