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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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Victims of a former
Catholic brother who preyed on schoolboys yesterday got the justice they had
awaited for 30 years. However, there was also
disappointment as a High Court jury in Christchurch found Bernard Kevin
McGrath, 58, guilty of fewer than half the 44 sex-abuse charges he faced. McGrath sexually
exploited boys while he was a teacher at Marylands School in Christchurch
between 1974 and 1977. The school, operated by
the Order of St John of God, catered for boys with learning difficulties. The
order has paid about $5.1 million to former pupils who had complained of
abuse. After a three-week trial
and 33 hours of deliberating, the jury yesterday found McGrath guilty of 21
charges of sexual abuse against eight boys and not guilty of the remaining 23
charges. He was found guilty of
eight charges of inducing an indecent act and 13 charges of indecent assault.
The jury rejected charges of sodomy. McGrath originally
faced 54 charges, but pleaded guilty to one, and nine charges were withdrawn
during the trial. McGrath was remanded in
custody for sentencing on April 27. Ken Clearwater, an
advocate for many of the men who complained of abuse by McGrath, said the
guilty verdicts were important, but it was disappointing to see so many
not-guilty findings. He accepted that the
jury had a difficult job to do. "Let's face it, the
people on the jury are just ordinary people off the street," he said.
"To hear the sort of stuff they have had to listen to over the last
three or four weeks, to have to listen to that, it's pretty dreadful stuff. "The [victims]
were only young boys. The times and dates are confusing, and I would say
where he's been found not guilty is through those things." An order has been made
to extradite two other former Marylands teachers from Australia to face abuse
charges. Both have appealed the order. A third man is too ill to be
extradited. |
