Paedophile priest gets eight years jail

The West Australian Online/May 12, 2003

Bunbury, Australia -- A 61-YEAR-OLD Catholic priest has been sentenced to eight years jail for indecently dealing with five children under 13 years of age.

Adrian Richard van Klooster, a former parish priest at Australind near Bunbury, 180km south of Perth, pleaded guilty in January to indecently dealing with the children, from two families, at his church house.

The offences happened on consecutive weekends in February 2002.

Dutch-born van Klooster, who had previously worked in NSW, also was charged with 12 counts of indecently dealing with a child under 13, four of indecently recording a child under 13 and one of possessing child pornography.

The charges involved the priest sliding around on the floor naked with the children, in olive oil and shampoo, and to taking digital photographs of the children.

He also took 37 images after placing the naked children on a photocopy machine.