Sex abuser's sisters bring him home to face justice

By EUGENE BINGHAM

In the middle of a summer's night in Greece, the law caught up with Alan Woodcock.

For years, the former Catholic priest had avoided facing justice for the sexual abuse of a string of boys. Now there was no escaping.

His sisters, members of the Sisters of St Joseph of Nazareth religious order, had helped police to track him down to Greece, where he was taking some time out.

Using a phone number given to him by one sister, Detective Sergeant Murray Porter rang the one-time Marist priest turned music therapist and counsellor turned unemployed shoe salesman.

Mr Porter told him New Zealand police were going to extradite him to face charges for sex crimes against 11 boys between 1978 and 1987.

He had two choices - go back to Britain to await extradition, or stay where he was and risk time in a Greek jail while police dealt with authorities in Athens.

Woodcock, Mr Porter recalled this week, did not say much during that phone call out of the blue one night in August 2002.

But soon he was flying back to London on a ticket paid for by his sister.

Friends in Britain, where he had lived since 1990, had sent him to Greece for a break because they feared for his mental health, partly in light of the re-emergence of allegations against him.

In June 2002, the Weekend Herald had broken the story of Woodcock's offending, revealing a series of sex crimes during his time at St Patrick's College, Silverstream, a centre in Wellington, and at Palmerston North, Hastings and Christchurch.

Authorities from his order, the Society of Mary, knew of the abuse during the 20 years Woodcock was a priest. Initially, they dealt with it by applying the church's ill-fated, ill-advised "geographical solution" - moving him whenever complaints arose and hushing things up.

They had also tried counselling, but the ultimate resolution for New Zealand leaders of the order was to send him to Ireland in 1988, force him to have further treatment and ban him from exercising his ministry.

Woodcock left the Marist residence where he was staying in Ireland and later officially left the order.

Back in New Zealand, the pressure was building. Two victims had complained to police and one, Terry Carter, sued the order.

By the mid-1990s, the Marists had changed their attitude and they tried to persuade Woodcock to return and answer police questions.

But Woodcock refused to be interviewed or return to New Zealand.

Mr Porter said this week that it was not until further victims came forward, prompted by the mid-2002 publicity, that police were able to advance the case.

Enter Woodcock's sisters, Sister Colleen and Sister Catherine.

Through their co-operation, Woodcock returned to Britain from Greece and, say some sources, was ready to face up to what he had done until a spell in prison changed his mind.

He appeared before a London court and was remanded to the notorious Brixton prison, where he was severely beaten up.

"[The attack] hardened his resolve to fight extradition," said one source. "He was at the time fighting himself, his addictions and his past. He wanted it to go away - but probably as painlessly as possible."

For 15 months, he fought extradition, telling the High Court in London: "I do not see how I can defend myself against allegations that are so old."

His appeals were dismissed and Mr Porter and Detective Sergeant Stu Mills escorted him back to New Zealand.

At Heathrow Airport, Woodcock indicated to Mr Porter that he wanted the whole thing to come to an end as quickly as possible.

Mr Porter did not want to discuss the case with his prisoner there and then because he did not have a lawyer available. Instead, they chatted on the plane about rugby and politics.

At Auckland Airport, Mr Porter arranged for Woodcock to have a visit from Sister Colleen.

Mr Porter said he had been impressed by Sister Colleen and Sister Catherine.

"They were both very keen right from the outset to have it resolved and for him to come back and face up."

After talks with Woodcock's lawyer, Greg King, and the victims, some charges against Woodcock were dropped and replaced with others.

On Monday, Woodcock, 56, was prepared to plead guilty.

Justice took a long time coming, but in the end it came swiftly thanks, in part, to two sisters.