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A priest who worked across the eastern states and Western Australia has been handed more jail time for raping a young girl while they were driving to a remote beach in the state’s Pilbara in the 1970s.
Adrian Van Klooster has previously been jailed for possessing child exploitation material and abusing children in his care while he worked as a parish priest in Bunbury, and appeared in WA’s District Court again on Wednesday on a series of new offences.
Van Klooster was found guilty of four child sex offences after a three-day trial earlier this month, for offending that happened in the north of the state in 1978.
The priest was working out of the Wickham and lived at a house attached to the church. He would allow children to spend time in the property.
The 11-year-old victim and Van Klooster, who was 35 years old at the time, were driving to Cossack Beach on one occasion when he allowed the young girl to sit on his lap and steer the car.
The court was told Van Klooster raped her once in the car and “reassured her everything was going to be OK”.
He raped her again when they arrived at the quiet beach, and again told the girl he “would not hurt her”.
However, during sentencing on Wednesday, Judge Wendy Hughes said she understood the incident the girl could recall was actually one instance of abuse. Hughes said evidence at Van Klooster’s trial had indicated his offending against the girl had occurred more than once.
“I sentence you on the basis, Mr Van Klooster, that this occasion was not a once-off or isolated incident, that there were other occasions when you did sexually abuse the victim, including inside your house, other occasions at Cossack Beach and on the way to Roebourne,” she said.
“It’s also serious because there was a large age disparity between yourself and the victim of over 25 years. It’s also serious because you were in a position of trust as the local priest, because of your position and standing in the community, not only did the victim trust you, but other people trusted you to have access to their children and allowed the children to be alone with you.”
Hughes said it was apparent Van Klooster’s offending had lasted at least six months over 1978 and 1979, and it was “persistent and repeated”.
She said the victim, who was now in her 60s, had experienced irreparable damage following the assault, and now refused to let herself get close with anyone to avoid “an attack”.
Hughes sentenced Van Klooster, now 84 years old, to two years and 10 months prison, and said she had to consider his age as a mitigating factor.
Van Klooster has been sentenced previously over similar charges, and had spent time working in Wollongong, Australind, Bunbury and Geraldton.
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