Father Robert Claffey
Father Robert Claffey was a Catholic priest who worked in various parishes in western Victoria between 1969 and 1992. He is reported to have committed offences of child sexual abuse upon more than 14 victims during the period 1969 to 1992. In 2014, Father Claffey was charged with 16 counts of indecent assault and one count of buggery by Victoria Police against seven child victims between 1970 and 1992. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to the offences and was jailed for 18 years and four months, with a minimum of 13 years and four months before becoming eligible to apply for release on parole.
Father Claffey was known to have groomed parents and children in the parish by visiting the families at their homes and establishing trust between himself and the his victims. Victims were abused whilst Father Claffey was under the supervision of Bishop Ronald Mulkearns, who was the Bishop of Ballarat from 1971 to 1997. In the criminal proceedings against Father Claffey in July 2015, Bishop Mulkearns gave evidence that Claffey was one of the priests under his supervision and that he recalls that Father Claffey had “been misbehaving…in a sexual way.”
In 2019, Father Claffey was back again in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in relation to new allegations, relating to offences against two young boys dating back to the 1980s. The first victim was abused between the ages of 12 to 15 at his family home, while the second victim who was only six at the time, was abused at the parish church. He was found guilty of abusing both children and was given an extra one year and three months in jail on top of his current prison term.
Father Claffey served in the following parishes churches in the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat, and during this time he was also given the role of Chaplain at primary schools such as Mary McKillop School in Portland:
St Thomas’s Parish (Terang);
St Joseph’s Parish, Warrnambool;
Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish, Apollo Bay;
Wendouris Parish, Ballarat; and
All Saints Parish, Portland.
Moody Law has in the past and is still representing clients who have made allegations of sexual and physical abuse against clergy members of the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat who served at various schools and parishes within the Diocese.
We invite former victims to tell us confidentially what information they may have, and we will explain what options are available to help with these cases.
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