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October 23, 2026
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Lismore pedophile priest sentenced

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A Catholic priest formerly attached to the Lismore diocese has been jailed for four years and 10 months on charges of having sexually abused two teenage boys who stayed with him at the church house in Mallanganee in the 1980s.

The allegations against John Patrick Casey, 70, included performing oral sex on one of the boys, masturbating in the boy’s presence, and digitally penetrating the other boy’s anus.

Casey denied all the charges.

The jury found him guilty of sexual assault (category three) of a person under the age of 16 years, sexual assault (category four), indecent act with a person under 16.

He was found not guilty of homosexual intercourse with a male under 18 years.

Judge Sarah Huggett handed down her sentence in the Sydney Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday, October 31.

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