A man allegedly sexually abused by a Catholic priest as a teenager says Opposition Leader Tony Abbott should not have vouched for the priest's character in court.
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John Gerard Nestor, 50, was a priest in the Wollongong diocese when he was charged with the indecent assault of the then-14-year-old altar boy.
In his 1997 court case, the priest admitted he had slept on mattresses on a floor with the boy and his younger brother in July 1991, but denied assaulting the boy.
Mr Abbott, then a federal parliamentary secretary to the employment minister, told the court Mr Nestor was an upright and virtuous man whom he had known since 1984 while studying at Sydney's St Patrick's Seminary to become a priest.
"He was ... a beacon of humanity at the seminary," Mr Abbott said.
The magistrate found Mr Nestor guilty and sentenced him to jail.
But in October 1997 the conviction was overturned on appeal - in part because of doubts cast on the accuracy of the boy's evidence - and Mr Nestor did not serve any time behind bars.
After the court case, the Catholic church did not allow Mr Nestor to return to ministry, because it sourced "significant additional material" relating to further complaints made against him.
The Vatican officially struck Mr Nestor from the clergy list about a decade later.
Mr Nestor said in February Mr Abbott was "a man of integrity" in agreeing to provide the character reference.
However, in an interview, the alleged victim, who asked not to be named, said Mr Abbott should not have provided a character reference for Mr Nestor.
"While I do not necessarily believe that he has done anything wrong, in hindsight it may have been better if he had not involved himself in the matter," he said.
It is understood Mr Abbott communicated with Mr Nestor twice after the court cases, but has had no contact with him for almost 15 years.
The alleged victim queried why Mr Abbott hadn't stayed in contact with Mr Nestor.
"If someone was of such good character, why has contact not been kept?" he asked.
He said Mr Abbott's reference may have been a factor in Mr Nestor's successful appeal.
"Certainly a character reference from a member of parliament would hold some sway, no doubt about it," he said.
"It probably did play a big part, but there were other things that played a bigger part. For example, John Nestor never gave evidence at the trial."
He said his case should be examined by the royal commission into child sex abuse.
AAP