Disgraced former Catholic Priest James Joseph Cunneen, who was
found guilty of indecent assault against six teenage boys in
New South Wales in the late 1980s, has died before he could be
sentenced.
60-year old Mr Cunneen was due to be sentenced in Downing Centre
District Court on 14 February 2020. He was arrested, charged and
prosecuted last year after information given to the Royal
Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in
2014.
After an extensive investigation, police extradited Mr Cunneen
back to Australia in 2017 where he was charged.
Molested, even in their sleep
Mr Cunneen was originally ordained as a priest in his native
country, New Zealand, in 1979 and worked within the Catholic church
both New Zealand and Australia before leaving the church in 1997
and returning to New Zealand.
