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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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Breached trust: Bernard McGrath
listens to his Anger erupted as former
St John of God brother Bernard Kevin McGrath's five-year jail term for
sexually abusing boys at "Die, you f......
priest," said one man. "What a waste of
time," said another as McGrath was led away to the cells. Later, the manager of
the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust, Ken Clearwater, said he was in
shock. "Five years is a
joke. For what that man's done, it's an insult to the victims. I know there
will be a lot of men hurting out there at the moment. I hope they have
supports in place to help them get through this." During an
emotionally-charged appearance in the packed courtroom, McGrath was jailed
for five years by Justice Chisholm, who said he had to take a global approach
in what was a very difficult sentencing. In setting the
sentence, the judge had to take into account two earlier prison terms – three
years in "You were there to
be their protector. In truth you were their abuser," the judge said at
yesterday's sentencing. "They had nowhere
to turn, no-one to go to. It is no wonder they reacted in such a distressing
way when they gave evidence." He told the 58-year-old
former Catholic brother that he was sceptical of his claims of remorse, and
noted that McGrath had received a two-year "discount" on his 1993
sentence for his full and frank admissions of guilt. McGrath did not react
as the sentence was pronounced. He appeared frail, and
sat with his head bowed in the dock while the legal argument about his
sentence took place. Earlier this month, he
was found guilty by a jury on 21 charges of sexual offending against children
at The judge noted nine
victims at the time were aged between nine and 15, and that 14 of the counts
McGrath was found guilty on were representative. In two cases, he offended
over three years 10 months – effectively the entire time he was at "I don't think you
should ever be placed, or allow yourself to be placed, in the situation where
you are with young people," the judge said. Victim impact reports
were disturbing. "They refer to
anger, fear, anxiety, low self-esteem, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In
some cases they suffered gross problems in later life." Speaking outside the court,
one of McGrath's victims said the five-year sentence "sucks". "I thought he
would get life," the man said. Nevertheless, he felt
he had some sort of closure – as long as McGrath did not leave prison and
hurt other children. Another man, who was not
a victim of McGrath but was a pupil at He said he was
disgusted with the justice system. The mother of an
Australian victim told The Press the sentence was a joke. "I think the light
sentence is disgraceful. It is in no way commensurate with the suffering of
so many young lives at the hands of this paedophile and all the other
predators in that house of horrors called the St John of God Order." |
