Ex-priest to fight sex allegations

A FORMER Dominic College teacher and ex-Catholic priest has indicated he will fight a number of historic indecent assault allegations in an upcoming Supreme Court of Tasmania trial.

Former Salesian order priest David Edwin Rapson, 67, was due to face the court on Monday via video link from Hopkins Correctional Centre in Victoria, where he is serving “a lengthy term of imprisonment” for other matters.

But a technical glitch prevented the link from taking place, with Chief Justice Alan Blow explaining the number provided wasn’t compatible with the court’s hardware.

It was due to be his first Tasmanian court appearance over the allegations.

The matter has been in the Supreme Court for more than a year, with COVID-19 restrictions hampering the matter from unfolding last year.

Crown prosecutor Liz Avery said Mr Rapson’s earliest release date from his current sentence was May, 2023.

She said to begin the transfer process from Victoria to Tasmania, Chief Justice Blow would need to issue an arrest warrant that meant communication could occur between the two state’s Attorneys-General.

Ms Avery said the matter was going to proceed to trial, but that “nothing can really be advanced until that arrest warrant is issued”.

According to an indictment filed with the court, Mr Rapson faces five counts of indecent assault dating back to the 1980s in Glenorchy and the Derwent Valley.

The charges allege he offended against three males between 1983 and 1985. Mr Rapson taught at Dominic College during the 1980s.