Content note: This post and the book it discusses address childhood sexual abuse, trauma, addiction, and suicide.
For decades, Paul Levey carried a truth that was never his burden—or his shame—to hold.
At twelve years old, Paul was introduced to Gerald Ridsdale, a Catholic priest whom his family had been taught to trust. That trust was deliberately exploited. Paul was groomed, abused, and eventually sent to live with Ridsdale in the presbytery, where the abuse continued.
But The Boy in the Presbytery is not the story of the man who harmed him.
It is Paul’s story.
Written by journalist Monique Patterson, the book follows Paul’s life through the years of silence that followed, the devastating effects of trauma, and his long fight to speak openly about what was done to him. It also examines the institutional decisions that allowed Ridsdale to remain in positions of trust even after church leaders had received complaints and warnings about his behavior.
When Paul finally spoke, telling the truth brought consequences of its own. At one point, a change in Victorian law meant that survivors could not be publicly identified—even when they wanted their names and stories known—without first seeking permission from the court. With support from the #LetUsSpeak campaign, Paul fought for and won the right to tell his own story in his own name.
Ridsdale died in prison on February 18, 2025. But his death did not erase the trauma endured by Paul and the many other children he abused. Nor did it end the questions surrounding the institutions that failed to protect them. Paul continues to speak because silence protected the wrong people for far too long.
This is a painful and confronting book. It contains graphic descriptions of childhood sexual abuse and may not be suitable for every reader. But it is also an account of courage: the courage required to survive, to reclaim one’s name, and to insist that the truth be heard.
Paul Levey was once known publicly only as “the boy in the presbytery.”
Today, he speaks for himself.
The Boy in the Presbytery: Paul Levey’s Brave Battle to End the Silence, by Monique Patterson, is now available from Genius Book Publishing.
Read Paul’s story and learn more about the book through the link below.
Explore The Boy in the Presbytery and other carefully told true crime stories from Genius Book Publishing.