NSW Attorney General, Mark Speakman will today introduce new laws to parliament to increase the penalty for concealing child sex abuse.
It comes after former Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide, Phillip Wilson was handed a 12 month home detention sentence in Newcastle Local Court for concealing the child sex abuse of paedophile priest Jim Fletcher in the 1970's and 1980's.
The state's Attorney General will move the legislative amendments after more than 13,000 people, many of them child sex abuse survivors, signed a petition calling for the change.
The proposed changes will see the penalty for concealing child sex abuse increase from two years gaol to five. However, if the concealment was for any sort of benefit, the penalty will be as high as seven years.
Child abuse survivors believe the increased penalties will go a long way to reducing the number of children being abused and in turn, the incidence of long-term mental illness which many survivors have to contend with.
The NSW Director of Public Prosecutions is appealing the leniency of the sentence handed to Phillip Wilson which is due to be heard next month.
 |
| Phillip Wilson Leaving Court In July After Being Sentenced For Concealing Child Sex Abuse |
