Father Bryan Coffey

Father Bryan Desmond Coffey (b. 1934 - d. 2013) was born in Ballarat, Victoria and was a priest who served in various parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat since 1960, when he was ordained. The organisation Broken Rites reports that Father Coffey served at the following parishes:

  • Horsham, Koroit and Terang (1960s);

  • Port Fairy (late 1960s and early 1970s);

  • Ouyen (1970s);

  • Charlton (late 1970s and early 1980s);

  • Colac (late 1980s); and

  • Sea Lake, Gordon and Stawell (1990s).

It is also reported that several victims of Father Coffey had reported the abuse to church authorities in Victoria in the 1960s and 1970s, only to learn that Father Coffey kept on being transferred from one parish to another. Furthermore, church authorities never reported the abuse to Victoria Police throughout this period.

In 1999, Father Coffey appeared in the Victoria County Court in Ballarat and was found guilty of on 12 counts of indecent assault involving eight boys and one count involving a girl while serving in Ballarat, Port Fairy and Ouyen between 1960 and 1975. Father Coffey was also found guilty of falsely imprisoning one of the boys in a bedroom and was acquitted of two counts of indecently assaulting two other boys.

Father Coffey was given three years in prison but was wholly suspended due to the following reasons:

  • the absence of previous convictions,

  • that the last offence committed occurred in 1975 and that the Court assumed that he had stopped offending after that;

  • the public humiliation allegedly suffered by his conviction; and

  • the fact that he was removed from his priestly duties.

Father Coffey appeared two more times in court after other victims made further allegations of abuse to Victoria Police:

  • In February 1998, Victoria Police charged Father Coffey with an indecent act on a boy under s 47 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic). The abuse is said to have been committed in the parish of Sea Lake in 1993. The charge never reached the court.

  • In July 1998, Father Coffey appeared again in court charged with five counts of buggery allegedly committed against another boy at the parish of Ouyen in 1975 and 1976. The charges lapsed due to the victim not appearing in court.

Moody Law has in the past and is still representing clients who have made allegations of sexual and physical abuse against various clergy members serving within the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat.

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.