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Royal Commission Case Study 28: 'catastrophic failure' of church leadership in Ballarat
Record class
Institutional event
Evidence status
Official finding
Authority role
Diocese of Ballarat leadership, religious orders operating parish schools
Organization
Diocese of Ballarat
Spiritual nexus
The Commission's finding is precisely about authority: diocesan and order leadership controlled the appointments and transfers that kept known offenders in contact with children under their pastoral care.
- Institutional obedience or isolation
- Pastoral or clerical authority
Evidence structure
Proceedings
2015-12-01 · royal commission finding
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Australia — Case Study 28. The Royal Commission recorded 140 claimants against Ballarat priests and religious, with 90% of claims falling on seven priests and claims against 56 Christian Brothers, and found 'a catastrophic failure in the leadership of the Diocese' over decades that enabled serial offenders — Ridsdale, Best and Dowlan among them — unchecked access to children.
Documented coercion mechanisms
- diocesan control of appointments enabling serial offenders' continued access
Primary record
Sources
- official statutory inquiry report inquiry report Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 'Report of Case Study No. 28' (2015).
The Commission's findings on claims volume and leadership failure in Ballarat.
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- 1995 · Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada Canada: Alberni residential-school supervisor sentenced as a 'sexual terrorist'
- 1998 · Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada Canada: Grollier Hall supervisor convicted across three decades of proceedings
- 2004 · Inuvik, NWT / Manitoba, Canada Canada: Grollier Hall supervisor convicted in the 1960s — then ordained a priest in 1990
- 2006 · Southwestern Ontario, Canada Canada: priest pleads guilty to 47 counts against girls across four decades of parishes
- 2013 · Sudbury / Windsor / Saskatoon, Canada Canada: Basilian priest-teacher convicted after admitting abuse of dozens of students
- 2012 · Northwestern Ontario / Manitoba, Canada Canada: Anglican bush-pilot priest convicted of 75 sex crimes against First Nations boys
- 2021 · Joliette, Quebec, Canada Canada: Clerics of St Viator priest convicted for abuse at Quebec religious schools
- 2018 · Ampleforth and Downside, England, United Kingdom IICSA: ten men convicted or cautioned for abuse at two Benedictine schools
- 2020 · Birmingham, England, United Kingdom IICSA: Birmingham Archdiocese prioritised reputation and priests over victims for seventy years
- 2021 · England and Wales, United Kingdom IICSA: Jehovah's Witness elders discouraged reporting, substituting internal discipline
- 2010 · Birmingham, England, United Kingdom United Kingdom: Fr James Robinson convicted on 21 counts after extradition from California
- 2006 · Gilling Castle, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom United Kingdom: Ampleforth monk convicted of assaulting fifteen boys at the junior school
- 2012 · Downside, Somerset, United Kingdom United Kingdom: Downside housemaster convicted; school had kept him teaching after 1987 disclosure
- 2016 · Belgravia, London, United Kingdom United Kingdom: Church of England youth worker convicted of raping congregants he groomed
- 2020 · Fort Augustus, Highlands, Scotland, United Kingdom Scotland: Fort Augustus monk convicted after extradition from Australia
- 2018 · Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom Scotland: priest convicted of abusing three children and a trainee priest
- 2024 · Watford, England, United Kingdom United Kingdom: official findings that Soul Survivor's founder used spiritual authority to coerce youths
- 2024 · Talsi County, Latvia Latvia: 83-year-old priest sentenced to ten years for sexual violence against five girls
- 1999 · Fort Albany, Ontario, Canada Canada: St Anne's residential-school nun convicted of assaults and administering a noxious substance
- 2015 · Westminster and Ampleforth, England, United Kingdom United Kingdom: choir-school housemaster convicted on all fifteen counts against ten boys
- 2014 · Sunbury, Victoria, Australia Australia: Salesian priest Frank Klep sentenced to a decade for a 'campaign of abuse' at Rupertswood
- 2024 · Douvres-la-Délivrande, Normandy, France France: Maronite priest convicted in absentia of raping minors at the children's home he ran
- 2016 · Pločica, Kovin, Serbia Serbia: village priest's conviction for abusing a choir girl upheld on appeal
- 2007 · Papilys, Biržai, Lithuania Lithuania: priest convicted at Supreme Court level of indecent acts against two first-graders he taught
- 2007 · Douglas County, Minnesota, USA United States: 2×2 travelling worker convicted of abusing the child of a host family
- 2011 · Michigan, USA United States: 2×2 worker convicted twice for abusing a host family's daughter
- 2008 · Gilmer, Texas, USA United States: Baptist youth minister given life after faking his own death to flee
- 2008 · Sunland, California, USA United States: Baptist pastor sentenced to 32 years for abusing two congregant girls
- 2023 · Bentonville, Arkansas, USA United States: Bentonville youth pastor sentenced to 60 years on thirteen counts
- 2011 · Union, South Carolina, USA United States: youth pastor's conviction for abusing a congregant teenager upheld on appeal
- 1996 · Sevier County, Tennessee, USA United States: pastor convicted of statutory rape of a congregant; retaining church ousted from SBC decades later
- 2002 · Boston, Massachusetts, USA United States: John Geoghan convicted — the case that broke open the Boston scandal
- 2005 · Newton, Massachusetts, USA United States: Paul Shanley's child-rape conviction affirmed by the Supreme Judicial Court
- 1985 · Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, USA United States: Gilbert Gauthe — the first widely publicized American priest conviction
- 1998 · Dallas, Texas, USA United States: Rudolph Kos sentenced to life after altar boys' testimony of years of abuse
- 2009 · Chicago, Illinois, USA United States: Jesuit spiritual director Donald McGuire convicted in state and federal courts
- 1993 · Fall River, Massachusetts, USA United States: James Porter pleads guilty to 41 counts against 28 children
- 1986 · Huntington Beach, California, USA United States: Orange diocese associate pastor convicted on 26 counts; initially sentenced to probation
- 2026 · Manazary, Miarinarivo, Madagascar Madagascar: prayer-house pastor convicted of raping a blind girl sent to him for healing
- 2016 · Peechi, Thrissur, Kerala, India India: Salvation Army pastor convicted twice — 40 years, then life until death
- 2013 · Hammond, Indiana, USA United States: Jack Schaap, megachurch IFB pastor, sentenced federally for abusing a girl he was 'counseling'
- 2002 · Atlanta, Georgia, USA United States: House of Prayer pastor convicted — affirmed on appeal — for church-ordered whippings of children
- 1997 · Houston, Texas, USA United States: Church of the Lamb of God successor convicted of ordering the murder of sect defectors
- 2016 · Pine County, Minnesota, USA United States: Victor Barnard convicted for abusing girls ceremonially surrendered to him as 'Maidens'
- 2016 · New Hartford, New York, USA United States: Word of Life pastor and members convicted after a teenager was beaten to death in an all-night 'counseling session'
- 1993 · Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA United States: David Holley sentenced to 275 years for abusing boys across two dioceses
- 2012 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA United States: Edward Avery's guilty plea — the one Philadelphia conviction that stands
- 2026 · Vadakkankulam, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India India: Tamil Nadu church priest sentenced under POCSO for assaulting a seven-year-old visitor
- 2016 · Varna, Bulgaria Bulgaria: Orthodox priest convicted of indecent acts against a thirteen-year-old boy
- 2006 · San Jose, California, USA United States: 2×2 worker Ruben Mata convicted — 36 years to life — for abusing boys of host families
- 2013 · Gilmer, Texas, USA United States: pastor given six consecutive life sentences for a decade of abuse of a choir girl
- 2019 · Mendoza, Argentina Argentina: Próvolo Institute priests convicted of abusing deaf child students — 45 and 42 years
- 2009 · Morón, Buenos Aires, Argentina Argentina: Julio Grassi's conviction for abusing a boy of his children's foundation — final at every level
- 2014 · Santiago, Chile Chile: Legionary of Christ school chaplain John O'Reilly convicted of abusing a student
- 2022 · Santiago, Chile Chile: the archdiocese official who received abuse complaints convicted of abusing minors himself
- 2011 · Santiago, Chile Chile: Karadima — judicially established abuse, prescription bar, and a final civil judgment against the Church
- 2017 · Villa Alta, Oaxaca, Mexico Mexico: Oaxaca priest's sentence — an early Mexican clergy conviction — confirmed on appeal
- 2020 · Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico Mexico: 'Padre Meño' — seminary formator's rape conviction ratified on appeal
- 2024 · Quetzaltenango, Guatemala Guatemala: pastor sentenced to 33 years for aggravated sexual assault of a minor congregant
- 2009 · Líbano, Tolima, Colombia Colombia: priest convicted of abusing displaced children in his care — and the Supreme Court's landmark civil ruling
- 2020 · Miranda, Cauca, Colombia Colombia: town priest sentenced to 16 years for sexual crimes against a twelve-year-old altar server
- 2023 · Panchimalco, El Salvador El Salvador: self-styled pastor convicted of continuous rape of a minor in a household that lodged him on religious trust
- 2023 · Springfield, Massachusetts, USA United States: Jehovah's Witness elder convicted of assaulting a thirteen-year-old congregant
- 2022 · Depok, West Java, Indonesia Indonesia: self-styled 'Bruder Angelo' sentenced to 14 years for abusing boys at his religious shelter
- 2020 · Guatemala City, Guatemala Guatemala: pastor convicted of producing child sexual-abuse material of a girl who came to him for help
- 2020 · Comasagua, La Libertad, El Salvador El Salvador: pastor sentenced to 20 years for raping a congregant child inside his church
- 1925 · Great Bend, Kansas, USA United States (1925): Kansas pastor's statutory-rape conviction affirmed — victim 'whose spiritual mentor he was'
- 1947 · Major County, Oklahoma, USA United States (1947): revival minister's conviction affirmed for abusing a boy entrusted by his mother
- 1948 · Chico, California, USA United States (1948): Chico rector's convictions affirmed for lewd acts against his guild boys and altar boys
- 1948 · Lenoir City, Tennessee, USA United States (1948): Baptist pastor's abduction conviction affirmed — a church member 'considerably under his influence'
- 1951 · Turlock, California, USA United States (1951): Turlock pastor's guilty plea to statutory rape of a congregant affirmed
- 1945 · Gordon's Reserve, Saskatchewan, Canada Canada (1945): Gordon's residential-school staff member convicted — documented by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
- 1947 · Gordon's Reserve, Saskatchewan, Canada Canada (1947): second Gordon's residential-school conviction in the TRC's appendix
- 1960 · Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Canada (1960): Edmonton residential-school conviction for gross indecency
- 1963 · Morley, Alberta, Canada Canada (1963): Morley residential-school conviction for indecent assault
- 1956 · Harreveld, Netherlands Netherlands (1956): two friars convicted after a boarding-school pupil's complaint — the Heithuis case
- 2008 · Philippines Philippines: pastor's rape conviction affirmed by the Supreme Court — assault in the pastoral house
- 2020 · Nausori, Fiji Fiji: pastor sentenced in absentia to 14 years for raping a fifteen-year-old congregant
- 2017 · Suva, Fiji Fiji: self-styled 'last prophet' convicted on all ten counts against four women of his prayer group
- 2019 · Buvussi, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea: Assemblies of God pastor sentenced for abusing a girl in his household care
- 2025 · Letsitele, Limpopo, South Africa South Africa: prophet given two life terms for raping teenage ushers he told sex 'transferred the Holy Spirit'
- 2025 · Mamelodi East, Pretoria, South Africa South Africa: life sentence for a pastor who raped a twelve-year-old of his congregation
- 2023 · Ermelo, Mpumalanga, South Africa South Africa: two life terms for a pastor who raped a fifteen-year-old fellow congregant
- 2014 · Harare, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe: church founder convicted of raping four congregants he threatened with evil spells
- 2003 · Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe: apostolic shrine leader convicted on seven counts of raping women who came for spiritual help
- 2025 · Nyabira, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe: apostolic sect leader convicted of raping a minor congregant — conviction under appeal
- 2019 · Eldoret, Kenya Kenya: pastor's defilement conviction affirmed by the Court of Appeal
- 2024 · Mwanza, Malawi Malawi: prophet jailed for defiling a girl her mother had brought to him for prayer
- 2025 · Mochudi, Botswana Botswana: pastor sentenced to twenty years for raping a woman who confided her trauma to him
- 2022 · Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Germany: Cologne priest sentenced to twelve years on 110 counts spanning twenty-five years
- 2016 · Klosterzimmern, Bavaria, Germany Germany: Twelve Tribes teachers convicted for doctrine-mandated rod beatings of sect children
- 2026 · Munich, Bavaria, Germany Germany: Pauline-order priest convicted of abusing two intoxicated boys of his parish
- 2015 · Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Germany: priest's six-year sentence for abusing two brothers confirmed by the Federal Court
- 2008 · Harrisville, Utah, USA United States: LDS bishop imprisoned for molesting girls of his own ward
- 2017 · Mapleton, Utah, USA United States: Mapleton bishop imprisoned for abusing two teenage boys of his congregation
- 1994 · Salt Lake City, Utah, USA United States: the highest-ranking LDS official ever convicted — 'exploited the religious respect' she held for him
- 2013 · Martinsburg, West Virginia, USA United States: 35-to-75 years for a church-endorsed babysitter, and the civil case the church settled mid-trial
- 2017 · Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Australia: LDS youth leader sentenced to ten years for abusing eleven boys over twenty-five years
- 2018 · Sanpete County, Utah, USA United States: doomsday-splinter leaders imprisoned for 'marrying' each other's small daughters
- 2024 · Rexburg, Idaho, USA United States: doomsday author sentenced to death for murders his followers' doctrine rationalised
- 2024 · Ivins, Utah, USA United States: counselor sentenced for child abuse committed through doctrinal control of a mother
- 2021 · Saraktash, Orenburg Oblast, Russia Russia: archpriest of a children's religious community sentenced to 21 years
- 2025 · Omsk, Russia Russia: priest convicted over a boy sent to stay overnight so he could serve the liturgy
- 2021 · Amurzet, Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia Russia: village rector sentenced to eighteen years for abusing fifty-three boys over twelve years
- 2018 · Yakutsk, Sakha Republic, Russia Russia: Orthodox gymnasium director convicted on forty-six proven episodes against his pupils
- 2018 · Priozersk, Leningrad Oblast, Russia Russia: priest convicted of abusing children at Orthodox camps — appeal denied
- 2021 · Orenburg Oblast, Russia Russia: hieromonk sentenced to thirteen years for violent acts against children under fourteen
- 2019 · Lipin Bor, Vologda Oblast, Russia Russia: rector convicted after eighteen months of indecent acts against a twelve-year-old parishioner
- 2023 · Omsk, Russia Russia: pastor convicted of inducing trance states in congregants — and later prosecuted for his beliefs
- 2011 · Gauteng, South Africa South Africa: serial killer who posed as a church prophet to lure his victims
- 2026 · Gweru, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe: self-styled prophet jailed for raping a congregant lured to a 'spiritual cleansing'
- 2019 · Luanda, Angola Angola: pastor sentenced to twelve years for drugging and raping a fourteen-year-old congregant
- 2024 · Hong Kong Hong Kong: children's-home pastor jailed after drugging and assaulting six teenage residents
- 2024 · Barcarena, Pará, Brazil Brazil: pastor sentenced to ninety-one years for abusing five boys of his congregation
- 2024 · Braço do Norte, Santa Catarina, Brazil Brazil: pastor jailed for over thirty-seven years for abusing two boys from his church
- 2022 · Americana, São Paulo, Brazil Brazil: Catholic priest convicted of abusing four former altar boys
- 2014 · Southern Santa Catarina, Brazil Brazil: priest's sentence raised to twenty-six years for abuse during pre-communion confession
- 2023 · Talsi, Latvia Latvia: Baptist minister and Sunday-school director convicted of abusing five girls
- 1990 · Waukegan, Illinois, USA United States (1990): pastor's convictions affirmed for abusing two children of a churchgoing family
- 1998 · Wexford, Ireland Ireland: Ferns priest sentenced to four years after pleading guilty to indecent assault
- 1990 · County Wexford, Ireland Ireland (1990): Ferns priest given a suspended sentence for indecent and common assault
- 1994 · Ireland Ireland: Brendan Smyth — twelve years on seventy-four counts, and the case that broke the Irish scandal
- 2010 · County Cork, Ireland Ireland (2010): Cloyne priest given a suspended sentence for gross indecency
- 1957 · Hasselt, Belgium Belgium (1957): priest sentenced to three years for the abuse of twenty-five boys
- 1957 · Veurne, Belgium Belgium (1957): five-year sentence for a priest who abused eighteen boys under sixteen
- 1959 · Amersfoort, Netherlands Netherlands (1959): religious-order brother convicted of abusing schoolboys in his care
- 1961 · Maastricht, Netherlands Netherlands (1961): brother's sentence halved on appeal but conviction and teaching ban upheld
- 1964 · Maastricht, Netherlands Netherlands (1964): brother convicted of abusing a pupil from the age of eight
- 1958 · Maastricht, Netherlands Netherlands (1958): senior congregation member convicted, prosecution appealing the sentence as too light
- 1954 · Netherlands Netherlands (1954): friar convicted of abusing three boys of about eight
- 1954 · Eindhoven, Netherlands Netherlands (1954): brother given a suspended sentence, lost his teaching credential, and reoffended
- 1999 · Lota, Cork, Ireland Ireland: Brothers of Charity convictions at Lota — repeated pleas across three courts
- 1993 · Mount Carmel, Axtell, Texas, USA United States: Koresh's 'House of David' doctrine — sworn testimony, three investigations, and no prosecution
- 1954 · Kilkenny and Upton, Ireland Ireland: the cases that were never prosecuted — clergy lobbying and the State's decisions not to charge
- 2003 · Letterfrack, Galway, Ireland Ireland: Br Dax convicted of sexually abusing boys at Letterfrack industrial school
- 2002 · Letterfrack, Galway, Ireland Ireland: Br Anatole convicted of indecently assaulting boys at Letterfrack industrial school
- 1953 · Tralee, Kerry, Ireland Ireland: Tralee's known abuser was never reported to the Gardaí — a twenty-year non-prosecution pattern
- 2024 · Cleja, Bacău County, Romania Romania: Catholic priest convicted of raping a 13-year-old parishioner after diocese handled it canonically for two years
- 2015 · Tetrakomo, Arta, Greece Greece: village priest convicted of raping a girl from age seven over seven years, sentence confirmed on appeal
- 2022 · Oakville and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Canada: teaching pastor of an Ontario megachurch found by an independent investigation to have abused a congregant; criminal charges later stayed and withdrawn without trial
- 2003 · Tacoma, Washington, USA United States: Youth pastor's guilty plea to child rape of boys in his congregation, Church For All Nations
- 2011 · Mansfield, Ohio, USA United States: Youth pastor's scripture-based grooming of church girls, convictions and 40-year sentence affirmed
- 1990 · Igloolik and Baker Lake, Nunavut, Canada Canada: Oblate missionary priest convicted across three proceedings (1990, 2015, 2025) of sexually abusing Inuit children in his own parishes
- 1985 · California, USA United States: Sunday school teacher's criminal conviction for molesting a boy in his class; church's own civil liability rejected on appeal
- 1819 · Saco and York County, Maine (then District of Maine, Massachusetts), USA United States: Self-proclaimed prophet convicted of adultery and gross lewdness after assigning half his sect's women to himself as 'spiritual wives'
- 1869 · Hull, England (tried at the Court of Queen's Bench, London) England: Mother Superior's authority over a professed nun used to confine, strip and expel her — jury finds for the nun, £500 damages
- 2022 · Agrinio, Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece Greece: priest who ran a quasi-monastic household of three mothers and eight children convicted of raping and abusing minors over years, sentence upheld on appeal
- 2025 · Șuncuiuș, Bihor County, Romania Romania: Orthodox parish priest charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old parishioner over two years, suspended and sent to trial
- 2022 · Abomey-Calavi, Benin Benin: evangelical pastor convicted of serially raping congregants and defrauding them in a land-purchase scheme
- 2025 · Fada N'Gourma, Est Region, Burkina Faso Burkina Faso: self-styled pastor convicted of raping a 10-year-old brought to him for deliverance prayer to treat epilepsy
- 2026 · Święcany and Boguchwała, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland Poland: Catholic vicar convicted of sexually abusing five teenage boys, including altar servers, across two parishes
- 2026 · Diocese of Sosnowiec, Poland Poland: diocesan commission finds at least 50 minor victims and 25 clergy perpetrators over decades in the Diocese of Sosnowiec
- 2011 · Bogotá, Colombia, and Trujillo, Peru Colombia: Anglican missionary convicted of abusing a 9-year-old boy fled to Peru and continued serving as a deacon for 14 years before his sentence lapsed unserved
- 2025 · Guadalupe, Chihuahua, Mexico Mexico: priest sentenced for sexually abusing a girl during confession before her First Communion at a Ciudad Juárez-area parish
- 2026 · Putaendo, Santiago, Talca, Concepción, Valdivia and Punta Arenas, Chile Chile: civil court finds the Salesian order followed a 'systematic and institutional pattern' enabling sexual abuse of students across six cities, orders damages to nine survivors
- 2026 · Andalgalá, Catamarca Province, Argentina Argentina: priest convicted of sexually abusing a boy over a decade earlier, sentenced after a trial delayed ten years
- 2025 · Orava region, Slovakia Slovakia: former priest convicted in landmark ruling of sexually abusing a 12-year-old pupil at his church school
- 2005 · Humenné region, eastern Slovakia Slovakia: priest convicted of sexually abusing a girl who visited his parish rectory as a child, verdict delivered 18 years after the abuse
- 2025 · Pawhuska, Osage County, Oklahoma, USA United States: Gateway Church founder Robert Morris pleads guilty to child sexual abuse of a girl in his ministerial care
- 2026 · Osceola County, Florida, USA United States: Osceola County pastor found guilty of raping a church member who sought spiritual guidance
- 2026 · Manatee County, Florida, USA United States: former Manatee County senior pastor gets triple life sentence for child rape and abuse material
- 2026 · Adrian, Michigan, USA United States: former Adrian, Michigan pastor sentenced for sex crimes against boys at his church and its juvenile campus
- 2026 · Ruckersville, Greene County, Virginia, USA United States: Virginia pastor sentenced for sexually abusing a minor and embezzling church funds
- 2019 · Virginia, USA United States: Virginia youth pastor pleads guilty to indecent acts with a teenager from his church
- 2026 · Jackson, Tennessee, USA United States: Jackson, Tennessee youth pastor sentenced for sexual relationship with a 17-year-old congregant
- 2026 · Town of Summit, Douglas County, Wisconsin, USA United States: former Minnesota pastor sentenced to life for repeated sexual assault of a child at his Wisconsin cabin
- 2025 · Mobile, Alabama, USA United States: Mobile, Alabama pastor sentenced for sexual misconduct with two former church members
- 2025 · Hernando, Mississippi, USA United States: Mississippi youth pastor pleads guilty to sexual battery of a teenager she was mentoring
- 2025 · Tupelo, Mississippi, USA United States: Tupelo youth minister convicted of sexual battery of a 16-year-old church member
- 2025 · Terrytown, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, USA United States: Terrytown, Louisiana pastor sentenced to 80 years for raping teenage boys he groomed through his ministry
- 2018 · Ruffin, North Carolina, USA United States: North Carolina pastor and school principal sentenced for abuse of a student who was also a congregant
- 2014 · Waynesville, North Carolina, USA United States: former Cove Creek Baptist Church youth pastor convicted of a lewd act against a girl from his congregation
- 2024 · Ernakulam, Kerala, India India: Catholic vicar's conviction for raping a minor parishioner upheld by the Kerala High Court, sentence reduced
- 2025 · Samambaia, Federal District, Brazil Brazil: self-declared prophet convicted of coercing followers into sex through fraudulent 'curse-breaking' rituals
- 2025 · Paranaguá, Paraná, Brazil Brazil: Indian-born parish priest convicted of sexually abusing a parishioner during a spiritual counseling session
- 2026 · Altamira, Pará, Brazil Brazil: ex-pastor sentenced to over 26 years for raping children of church members during congregation activities
- 2026 · Serra Negra, São Paulo, Brazil Brazil: priest convicted of grooming and sexually abusing an altar server through the Diocese of Amparo
- 2020 · Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea South Korea: pastor convicted after fatal 'laying-on-of-hands' exorcism prayer on a fasting congregant
- 2016 · Gwangju, Buk-gu, South Korea South Korea: pastor convicted after fatally pressing on a congregant's abdomen during a healing prayer for schizophrenia
- 2019 · Missouri, USA Missouri attorney general report: 163 credible instances of Catholic clergy abuse, 12 cases referred for prosecution
- 2019 · New Jersey, USA New Jersey's five Catholic dioceses jointly name 188 priests credibly accused of child sexual abuse
- 2025 · New Jersey, USA New Jersey Supreme Court clears state grand jury to investigate Catholic clergy abuse, ending a seven-year legal block
- 2020 · Kentucky, USA Kentucky's Covington and Lexington dioceses release independent-review findings naming 90 and 20 accused clergy
- 2003 · Manchester, New Hampshire, USA New Hampshire attorney general publishes 9,000-page investigative file naming 35 New Hampshire priests
- 2026 · Michigan, USA Michigan attorney general's diocese-by-diocese clergy investigation: 1,276 tips, 11 criminal cases, 9 convictions
- 2020 · Advance and Stoddard County, Missouri, USA United States: retired priest Frederick Lutz charged with forcible sodomy after Missouri attorney general's clergy probe
- 2017 · Canberra, Australia (national) Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse: final report
- 2017 · Newcastle, NSW, Australia Royal Commission Case Study 42: Anglican Diocese of Newcastle's 'do nothing' response
- 2011 · Newcastle, NSW, Australia Australia: Anglican lay figure James Michael Brown convicted on 27 counts against 19 boys
- 2016 · Box Hill, Bayswater, Victoria and Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia Royal Commission Case Study 33: Salvation Army children's homes, Southern Territory
- 1995 · Box Hill, Victoria, Australia Australia: Salvation Army sergeant Willem Willemson convicted of indecent assault at Box Hill Boys' Home
- 2016 · Oud-Beijerland, Netherlands Netherlands: Hersteld Hervormde Kerk predikant Peter K. convicted of abusing a congregant, 2009-2012
- 2020 · Netherlands (national) Netherlands: Utrecht University study documents 751 sexual-abuse reports within Jehovah's Witnesses community
- 2021 · Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Germany: Gercke report names 202 accused and finds duty violations across Cologne archdiocese leadership
- 2022 · Munich, Bavaria, Germany Germany: Munich abuse report finds Joseph Ratzinger 'with high probability' knowingly deployed abusers
- 2016 · Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Germany: Jehovah's Witness congregant convicted of abusing a boy during Kingdom Hall ceremonies, Greifswald
- 2020 · Texarkana, Bowie County, Texas, USA United States: Texas youth group leader convicted of sexual assault and indecency with a congregant, affirmed on appeal
- 2025 · Longview, Gregg County, Texas, USA United States: Texas church deacon convicted of indecency with a child left in his care during Bible study, affirmed
- 2023 · Houston, Harris County, Texas, USA United States: Texas church deacon sentenced to life for continuous sexual abuse of his daughter; other church girls' accusations admitted at trial, affirmed
- 2001 · Harlingen, Cameron County, Texas, USA United States: LDS ward clerk convicted of indecency with a member's child after two families' complaints to the bishop, affirmed
- 1946 · Carriglea, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland Ireland: Carriglea industrial school — internal Church tribunals found 'criminal or indecent assault' proven, twice, and never once called the Gardai
- 1944 · Glin, County Limerick, Ireland Ireland: Glin industrial school — a confessed abuser offered the choice of 'apply for a dispensation or stand trial', and the Congregation chose neither
- 1962 · Salthill, Galway, Ireland Ireland: 'In none of the Br Dacian cases was there a prosecution or even a formal report to the Gardai' — the Ryan Report's own words for a 25-year pattern
- 1990 · St Joseph's School for Deaf Boys, Cabra, Dublin, Ireland Ireland: at the deaf school in Cabra, one man was Garda-investigated with no recorded outcome, and three more were let go without the Gardai ever being told
- 1955 · Greenmount, Cork, Ireland Ireland: 'Br Carlito was not prosecuted' — the Ryan Report's own words for a Resident Manager two bishops and a Garda superintendent all knew about
- 1954 · Upton, County Cork, Ireland Ireland: the Rosminians' own Rome archive names seven sexual abusers at Upton across three decades — 'the Order did not expel members for sexual abuse' and none were ever reported as a crime
- 2025 · Arta, Greece Greece: village priest convicted of raping a child from age seven over seven years
- 2021 · Larissa, Greece Greece: priest sentenced to eight years for abusing an 11-year-old, mother convicted as accomplice
- 2021 · Salamina, Greece Greece: Old Calendar priest convicted of indecent acts against a boy, released pending appeal
- 2025 · Rzeszów, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland Poland: former priest Dominik R. sentenced to five years for molesting five boys in catechism classroom
- 2026 · Elbląg, Poland Poland: Franciscan friar 'Brother Polikarp' convicted of molesting girls during confession and family retreats
- 2026 · Międzybrodzie Bialskie, Diocese of Bielsko-Żywiec, Poland Poland: state pedophilia commission enters priest Jan Wodniak in the public sex-offender registry a second time
- 2026 · Faial Island, Azores, Portugal Portugal: Azores priest convicted of attempted sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl in his care
- 2018 · Sobral, Ceará, Brazil Brazil: Presbyterian pastor convicted of raping five children under ten in his congregation
- 2017 · Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil Brazil: Catholic group founder 'Papi' convicted of raping young men he recruited through his community
- 2023 · Bayeux, Paraíba, Brazil Brazil: Assembly of God pastor convicted of raping three children using his religious standing to win family trust
- 2026 · Parnaíba, Piauí, Brazil Brazil: futsal coach and pastor sentenced to over 103 years for grooming eleven adolescents with distorted scripture
- 2025 · Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil Brazil: Foursquare Church pastor convicted of sexually harassing minors in his youth counselling group
- 2022 · San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico Mexico: priest sentenced to 60 years for raping a boy in his parish, reported by his own bishop
- 2023 · Aquixtla, Puebla, Mexico Mexico: priest sentenced to 21 years for luring and assaulting a seven-year-old at his church
- 2023 · Chitaraque and San Gil, Santander, and Moniquirá, Boyacá, Colombia Colombia: priest tried for raping an altar-boy figure on his farm, four more accusers surface
- 2025 · San Martín, Mendoza, Argentina Argentina: pastor convicted of statutory rape aggravated by his status as 'minister of a cult'
- 2025 · Santa Fe, Argentina Argentina: pastor sentenced to ten years for repeatedly abusing an adult congregant who feared disbelief
- 2024 · Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, Chile Chile: Diocese of Valparaíso finds priest guilty of abusing a ten-year-old student decades earlier, expels him
- 2018 · Victoria Falls, Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe: Enlightened Christian Gathering pastor convicted of raping a 12-year-old congregant during a house prayer visit
- 2025 · Nquthu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa South Africa: pastor given ten life terms for serially raping and assaulting twelve children lured with spiritual-guidance pretexts
- 2025 · Edenburg, Free State, South Africa South Africa: pastor's husband sentenced to life for raping an orphaned child taken into the pastor's household
- 2025 · Weija, Accra, Ghana Ghana: evangelist sentenced for defrauding congregants with a claimed spiritual money-doubling ritual
- 1980 · Kingsport, Sullivan County, Tennessee, USA United States: priest convicted of raping his altar boy decades earlier, sentence affirmed on appeal
- 2019 · Palm Beach County, Florida, USA United States: 'Apostle' pastor convicted of sexually abusing three girls in his congregation
- 2012 · West Valley City, Salt Lake County, Utah, USA United States: LDS branch president convicted of sexually battering a teenage congregant summoned to his office
- 2005 · Georgia, USA United States: church youth-choir director convicted of molesting a boy from his choir
- 2010 · Washington, Daviess County, Indiana, USA United States: pastor convicted of raping the young son of a family who housed his church, sentenced to eighty years
- 2013 · Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA United States: LDS church leader guilty of molesting a boy over five years, using church roles to access the family
- 2019 · Georgia, USA United States: minister convicted of molesting two young girls from congregant families at his church