Sydney Greek Orthodox Priest Found Guilty of Sexually Touching Family Members, Magistrate Says He Remains Unremorseful

Father Mario “George” Fayjloun, a Greek Orthodox priest from Sydney, was found guilty of nine charges of sexually touching a mother and her two children. Court reports describe the offences as sexual touching, and one report describes them as aggravated sexual touching. The incidents took place between August 2019 and February 2020, at the Greek Orthodox church in Central Mangrove and at the family’s home in Bankstown. Fayjloun was charged in September 2021 and pleaded not guilty in December 2021.

According to court documents, Fayjloun touched the victims on six occasions, during confession and at dinner. On two occasions he touched the mother on her groin and breasts and forced her to touch his penis. He kissed the eldest daughter on the lips and separately touched the younger daughter on her breast and back.

Magistrate Gareth Christofi found Fayjloun guilty of all nine charges on June 25. One report gives the date without a year, and the other does not give a date for the verdict. At the time of the offences, Fayjloun was 36. One report states that he had resigned from his role at the Central Mangrove church.

In sentencing, the magistrate described Fayjloun as unremorseful and said he had cynically exploited the victims’ trust. Nine News reported that he continued to deny the allegations and claimed the victims had fabricated them for financial gain. Greek Herald reported that he remained unremorseful, while Nine News described him as unrepentant. Neither report includes a response from Fayjloun beyond his denial as Nine News describes it.

Fayjloun was sentenced to a two-year intensive corrections order, which means he will serve his sentence in the community rather than in jail. He was also ordered to complete 300 hours of community service. During that period he is barred from providing religious or spiritual services. Protecting people who are vulnerable to abuse of trust is central to this restriction (Psalm 82:3).

The magistrate noted that Fayjloun had continued to provide services from his home after losing his church income.