Father Wilfred Baker

Father Wilfred Baker (Wilfred ‘Bill’ James Baker) was born in Melbourne in 1936 and was ordained as a priest in 1961. Throughout his service with the Archdiocese of Melbourne, Father Baker served in the following parishes:

  • Jordanville (1962 - 1966);

  • East Brighton (1966-68);

  • Mordialloc (1968-69);

  • Balaclava (1969-71);

  • hospital chaplain (1971-74);

  • Doveton (1974-75);

  • Gladstone Park (1975-78);

  • Eltham (1978-92); and

  • North Richmond 1992-99.

Royal Commission records show that Father Baker was charged with child sex offences in July 1998 and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment in June 1999. He was charged again and committed to stand trial in 2013, but died in 2014 while those matters were pending. He was laicised (i.e. his status as a priest was withdrawn) in 2012. Furthermore, the Royal Commission has shown that the Archdiocese had known of Father Baker’s behaviour at his early parishes, which resulted in him being removed from parish work to working as a chaplain in hospitals between 1971 to 1974. This was known as quarantining a problem priest in hospital chaplaincy for a period of time before transferring him to a new parish.

All the parishes listed above (except for North Richmond) were included in Father Baker’s charge sheet. Complaints were made in the parish of North Richmond, but these did not reach the courts. Data from the Royal Commission shows that 21 people made either a claim or substantiated complaint of child sexual abuse against Father Baker between 1960 to 1985. The abuse occurred in 16 institutions. It was not until 1997 that Father Baker was placed on administrative leave. In the end, Father Baker plead guilty to16 counts of indecent assault and one of gross indecency, involving eight boys, aged between 10 to 13, over a 20-year period between 1960 and 1979.

Moody Law has in the past represented and is still representing clients who were sexually abused by clergy members serving in parishes within the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.

We invite former victims of Father Wilfred Baker to tell us confidentially what information they may have, and we will explain what options are available to help with these cases.

Call us or complete the confidential enquiry form below.