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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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A jury has found a
former Catholic brother guilty on 23 charges and not guilty of 21 counts of
sexually abusing boys at a Christchurch school in the 1970s. The charges relate to
58-year old Bernard Kevin McGrath's time as a teacher and dorm master at
Maryland's school for troubled boys. McGrath initially faced
54 charges, but pleaded guilty to one charge of indecent assault and a
further nine charges were dropped during the trial. The jury, which
deliberated for almost 33 hours, was told during the trial that McGrath was
convicted on similar charges in 1993. On Thursday the asked
the judge what would happen if they were not able to reach a verdict on all
counts. Chisholm said they
could deliver a verdict of undecided for some charges but they would probably
be referred to a new jury. He asked them to consider whether a unanimous
verdict was possible but said they should not deliberate for too much longer. Justice Chisholm
remanded McGrath in custody until his sentencing at the end of April. |
