Catholic Diocese of Bunbury

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bunbury is a suffragan Latin Rite diocese of the Archdiocese of Perth. It was established in 1954, and it covers the South West and Great Southern regions of Western Australia.

Like many other Dioceses in Australia, the Diocese of Bunbury has been heavily scrutinised by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. In 2017, The Royal Commission in Analysis Of Claims Of Child Sexual Abuse Made With Respect To Catholic Church Institutions In Australia published the following data:

• 29 people made a claim of child sexual abuse received by the Diocese of Bunbury (1% of all

  claims of child sexual abuse);

•  This represents 2% of all claims received by archdioceses/dioceses with only priest members;

• Of these claims of child sexual abuse:

  a. 20 (69%) identified one or more priest as an alleged perpetrator,

  b. Eight (28%) identified one or more lay person as an alleged perpetrator, and

  c. One (3%) identified one or more religious brother as an alleged perpetrator.

• Some claims identified more than one alleged perpetrator with differing religious statuses;

• One (3%) person who made a claim of child sexual abuse also made an allegation of physical abuse;

• The gender of claimants (where the gender was reported) was 62% male and 24% female;

• The average age of the claimants at the time of the alleged child sexual abuse was 11 years of age;

• 67% of claimants were under the age of 13 years at the time of the alleged child sexual abuse and 33% were between 13 and 18 years of age (where the age was known);

• 69% of claimants alleged that the incidents of child sexual abuse occurred in the period from 1970 to 1989 (inclusive);

• The largest proportion of claimants alleged that the first incident of child sexual abuse

  occurred in the 2000s (27%); and

• The highest number of claims of child sexual abuse received by the Diocese of Bunbury against a single alleged perpetrator was five.

The Diocese of Bunbury has been the home of various serial offenders of child sexual abuse. This includes Father Adrian Richard Van Klooster, a Catholic priest, who in 2003 pleaded guilty to four counts of indecently dealing with children under the age of 13 and was found with child pornography on his computer. Another perpetrator is Father Bertram Richard Adderley who wasn’t able to be charged with any of the numerous allegations Western Australia Police received due to his death in 1983.

Moody Law has represented in the past a client against the Diocese of Bunbury over allegations of sexual abuse by Father Adderley.

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.

Call us or complete the confidential enquiry form below.