Catholic brother arrested on Australia sex charges

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - New Zealand police have arrested a former Catholic brother and convicted pedophile after Australian authorities filed 252 new charges against him.

Police say they arrested 65-year-old Bernard Kevin McGrath on Friday in Christchurch after he voluntarily returned to New Zealand from Sri Lanka. A judge on Monday released the former St. John of God brother on bail.

New South Wales police say they've investigated a large number of sexual assault claims by former students of the St. John order's Kendall Grange school for boys in the town of Morisset, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) north of Sydney.

McGrath previously served jail time in New Zealand after sexually abusing boys in Christchurch in the 1970s.


(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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