In short:
Former Victoria Police detective Denis Ryan has died in Mildura, aged 93.
Mr Ryan was driven from the police force in 1972 after his superiors stopped him from charging paedophile Catholic priest Monsignor John Day in the 1970s.
Child abuse victims, friends and social welfare advocates have remembered Mr Ryan for the four decades he spent fighting for justice for the children abused by Monsignor Day.
Former Victorian police officer Denis Ryan has been remembered for his courage in attempting to prosecute paedophile Catholic priest Monsignor John Day in the 1970s.
Mr Ryan died on Tuesday at the age of 93.
He was a detective based in Mildura in north-west Victoria when he was forced out of Victoria Police in 1972 for attempting to prosecute Monsignor Day.
A year earlier, he had learned of multiple allegations against the priest for child sexual abuse and began his investigation, but was told to stop by his superiors.
A contemporary of convicted paedophile priest Gerald Risdale, Monsignor Day has since been shown to be one of Australia’s most prolific child sex abusers.
Monsignor Day remained a priest until he died in 1978, aged 74.
On Wednesday, Peter Hoysted — Mr Ryan’s friend and co-author of the memoir Unholy Trinity: The Hunt for Paedophile Priest Monsignor John Day — led the tributes to Mr Ryan.
“He was quite simply the best man I have ever met,”
Mr Hoysted said.
“No sanctimony, a wicked sense of humour and courage to burn.”
It took more than 40 years for Victoria Police to apologise to Mr Ryan in 2016, but compensation was not made until two years later.
“He never let up, refused numerous inducements offered which would have silenced him and allowed terrible crimes against children to remain in the shadows,” Mr Hoysted said.