<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>338523</docID> <postdate>2025-02-18 11:09:21</postdate> <headline>Australia’s worst pedophile priest dies in jail</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-338524" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/gerald-risdale-e1739837303852.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /></p> <caption>Pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale, who was convicted of abusing more than 70 children, has died. Photo: Royal Commission</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Melissa Meehan</strong> in Melbourne</span></p> <p><strong>A pedophile priest, convicted of abusing more than 70 children over three decades, has died.</strong></p> <p>Gerald Risdale, died on Tuesday morning in prison. He was 90.</p> <p>Risdale's appalling history of child abuse began in 1961 – the year he was ordained as a priest.</p> <p>He spent the next three decades abusing dozens of children across regional Victoria, often using his privileged status as a priest to earn the trust of his victims and their families.</p> </body>