Pedophile Catholic priest Gerald Ridsdale has made a deathbed confession to sexually abusing his 72nd victim.
The 89-year-old has been in prison since 1994 and is currently serving a maximum 39-year sentence for abusing dozens of child victims when he worked as a priest at multiple schools and churches across Victoria.
In October last year, his earliest release date was extended to April 2027 after he admitted abusing two brothers between 1981 and 1982.
Ridsdale, who is bed bound and cannot walk, wore a blanket and sat in a wheel chair with his eyes closed as he faced Ballarat Magistrates Court from a prison hospital by video link on Thursday.
He pleaded guilty to a fresh charge of indecent assault against a 13-year-old boy while he worked as an assistant priest at a Catholic school in Horsham in 1987.
Ridsdale touched the boy inappropriately inside an office at the school, after the priest invited the child to a meeting with him.
He told the boy "you're a big strong lad" and grabbed his bicep.
Ridsdale's defence lawyer said his client's health had been declining since early 2021 and he had been in a wheelchair since mid-last year.
In November 2022, he fell and was found lying on the floor of his cell, unable to move, having been in that position for some hours.
He was admitted to Port Phillip Prison's hospital on November 29, where he remains, and his lawyer said hospital records show he was recommended for palliative care in January.
He said Ridsdale accepted the offending was against a vulnerable child and involved a serious breach of trust as he held significant authority over the boy, with the only appropriate sentence additional prison time.
Ridsdale will return to the court for sentence in August.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
