Louis Victor Daniels, former Anglican archdeacon of Burnie, Tasmania, has pleaded guilty to 13 counts of molesting young boys between 1973 and 1993.
Mr. Daniels, 57, now based in Charnwood, Canberra, was to be sentenced in May.
Meanwhile, a Tasmanian lobby group of survivors of child sex abuse has demanded a state inquiry into claims that an organized pedophile ring involving members of the Anglican church operated in Tasmania during the 1970s and 1980s. The group said an inquiry would encourage more victims to come forward. The Anglican Church in Tasmania said it supported such an inquiry. Earlier, John Harrower, Anglican bishop of Tasmania, said he was “greatly saddened” by incidents of abuse involving clergy. The church has offered compensation to victims and has launched the safe ministry program to weed out possible offenders.