Richard John O’Connor

Mr. Richard John O’Connor was a former lay teacher who predominantly taught English and Art within the Catholic education system in New South Wales. Mr. O’Connor was born on 12 October 1939. Initially Mr O’Connor joined the religious Catholic order, the Patrician Brothers, before leaving after a couple of years to get married and start a family.

In 2014, Mr. O’Connor was charged by NSW Police with 55 offences relating to child sexual abuse and indecent assault. The charges related to his time at St John’s College Woodlawn just outside Lismore, NSW where it was alleged that he sexually assaulted 12 boys, aged between 12 to 16, during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The school is run by the Marist Fathers.

In 2015, Mr. O’Connor was convicted on 40 of those offences in the Lismore District Court and was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, backdated to his entry into custody on 5 August 2015. Further, he was given a non-parole period of six years and six months.

Mr. O’Connor died on 28 March 2016.

Moody Law has in the past represented a client who made allegations of sexual abuse against Mr. O’Connor when he was a student at St John’s College Woodlawn. We have also and are still representing clients who have made allegations of sexual and physical abuse against members of the Marist Fathers at different institutions around Australia.

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.