Priest confesses to sex abuse

2004-05-17 11:03

Wellington - A former Catholic priest, extradited from Britain to New Zealand to face charges of sexually abusing teenage boys, admitted his crimes in a court near Wellington on Monday.

Alan Woodcock, 56, formerly of Upper Hutt, admitted to indecently assaulting boys in the lower North Island towns of Silverstream and Palmerston North between 1982 and 1985 while working as a teacher.

Police said he had lived in England since the late 1980s before a high court ordered him to return to New Zealand for trial.

The head of the teaching order, Father Dennis O'Hagen, said outside the court that church authorities knew Woodcock had a conviction for committing sexual indecencies with an adult male before he was placed in a teaching position.

"It was a very bad mistake, but expert advice was that he would not be a threat to people," O'Hagen said.

He also apologised to the boys who had filed complaints with church authorities at the time but had been ignored.

The judge ordered that Woodcock be kept in jail until he is sentenced on June 25. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA