Furniture Dealer on Trial Accused of Trying to Halt Abuse Investigation

A prominent furniture dealer has appeared in court accused of attempting to interfere with a historical abuse investigation involving a Catholic priest.

David Richard Hick, 70, denies a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice relating to allegations against Father Piotr Glas, who had been under investigation for alleged sexual offences against a child. Although Father Glas was later convicted, that conviction has since been overturned on appeal and he is due to face a retrial.

The court heard that Hick allegedly visited the complainant’s mother at her home on two occasions, shortly after a 37-minute phone call with Father Glas.

Opening the case before two Jurats, Crown Advocate Carla Carvalho said Hick went to the woman’s home and initially engaged in casual conversation before revealing he had “come with a purpose”.

Giving evidence, the mother told the court that Hick said he had spoken to Father Glas that morning and that the priest was “very distressed”. She said his manner became more serious when discussing the allegations.

“It just seemed like a general catch-up,” she told the court. “He was quiet for a moment and said, ‘I have come with a purpose.’”

She added that Hick appeared “agitated” and “upset”, and that his tone became “much firmer” as he asked questions about Father Glas. The woman said she did not respond to his questions because she understood she was not supposed to discuss the matter.

“I was obviously quite shocked at what I was hearing and that my child’s anonymity had been broken to a member of the public,” she said.

The court heard that Hick allegedly told her: “This has to be stopped. It’s not what God would have wanted,” and repeated that the situation needed to be resolved before it went any further.

The woman said she felt uncertain how to respond and declined to speak to her child about the matter. She also told the court that Hick later asked for her phone number, which she provided.

She described feeling “sad” that Hick had become involved and “angry” that details of the case had allegedly been shared. “The conversation was calm. I was not calm. It was really quite a distressing situation,” she said.

During a second visit, the woman said she heard Hick trying to enter her home while she was on the phone. She met him outside, where he said he had lost her number and asked for it again, which she said left her feeling “on the spot” and “quite anxious”.

Defence advocate Mark Boothman told the court that Hick had not attempted to persuade the woman to interfere with the investigation, although Hick admitted visiting her home.

In a police statement, Hick said he had acted “impulsively” and later realised his actions were “irrational”.

“Impulsively, and I now realise irrationally, I went to the family’s house,” he told officers, adding that he should have “stopped and thought about” his actions.

Hick also described Father Glas as “a good and kind person” and said they had been friends for many years, although they had lost touch after the priest left the island. He said the priest appeared “very distressed” during their phone call.

The trial continues before Commissioner Patricia Lees, sitting with Jurats Joanne Kim Averty and Donald Christopher Gardener.