Paedophile Priest And The Catholics' 17-year Cover-up

IN OCTOBER‚ WILLIAM SEGODISHO went public with the story of how he had been raped and sexually abused in the 1980s by Father William MacCurtain, a Jesuit priest then based at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Doornfontein, Johannesburg.

Segodisho said he decided to speak out because the church had blocked his attempts over the past 17 years to get the priest reported to the police and have him extradited to South Africa from the UK to stand trial for his crimes.

Segodisho’s renewed fight for justice was inspired by reports on the “Sidney Frankel Eight” case – first revealed in Noseweek (nose180). The case of the victims of paedophile stockbroker Sidney Frankel – who are by now all middle-aged – was taken on by Sandton attorney Ian Levitt, a longtime Noseweek subscriber. Levitt shepherded their case all the way to the Constitutional Court.

In June this year the court ruled that the law which imposed a 20-year limit on prosecution for sexual assault was unconstitutional. The court also changed the definition of rape to include men as possible rape victims.

Earlier this year Levitt agreed to take on Segodisho’s case as well.

Segodisho tells his story in an affidavit filed at the Hillbrow police station in February this year.

A primary school classmate of Julius Malema, Segodisho fled as a 13-yearold from Limpopo to Johannesburg in 1986 after he was involved in violent protests against apartheid-era police. The abuse‚ which is said to have happened between 1986 and 1989‚ occurred after the priest befriended Segodisho while he was living at a street shelter for children in Hillbrow‚ Johannesburg.

“Streetwise enrolled me in an informal school and a shelter. Through Streetwise I met a priest by the name of William MacCurtain, known to me as Father Bill. I could see I had made an impression on him. I thought this was due to my academic promise.

“Father Bill convinced me to go stay with him at the Christ King Cathedral at 186 Nugget Street, Doornfontein in a dormitory for priests. I shared a room with Father Bill.