Father Desmond Gannon

Father Desmond Gannon was born in 1929 and died in 2015. He attended the Corpus Christi Seminary in Melbourne and was ordained in 1956. He served in the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. According to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Father Gannon had abused children in various schools and parishes from 1958 until he retired from his role at the Macleod-Rosanna Parish, Melbourne in 1993. Furthermore, the Royal Commission revealed that 25 people had made a claim of child sexual abuse against Father Gannon. Most of his victims were under the age of 13 years old. His first victim was sexually abused only two years before his ordination.

Criminal Charges

Since 1995, Father Gannon has been charged, convicted and sentenced for various offences. They include the following:

  • In 1995 he was charged with the abuse of four children who suffered serious psychological damage. He consequently served 52 weeks in prison.

  • In 1996, he was charged with the assault of three boys during the 1960s. He was sentenced to another 52 weeks in prison but did not serve.

  • In 2000, Father Gannon faced another eleven counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency against another four boys between 1963 to 1976. He was not jailed for these offences.

  • In 2003 and 2009, Father Gannon was charged again. However, in 2009 he was finally sent to prison for the serious abuse of a child under the legal age of consent. Father Gannon was 79 at the time.

  • In June 2022, the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne has been ordered to pay $1.9 million in damages to an altar boy who was sexually abused by Father Gannon during his service with the Archdiocese. It is reported that the boy was sexually abused on three occasions by Father Gannon between 1968 to 1970.

Moody Law has in the past and is still representing clients who have made allegations of sexual and physical abuse against priests and other clergy members serving at different parishes within the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.

We invite former victims of Father Gannon to contact us 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.