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Allegations
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The Salvation Army has
offered double-murderer Gresham Marsh more than $20,000 - to have his tattoos
removed, to change his name and to receive counselling for abuse he allegedly
suffered as a child. Marsh, one of New
Zealand’s most notorious criminals, whose murder of a rural Waikato couple
helped to introduce the term "home invasion" into the New Zealand
vocabulary, is one of 36 people who claimed to have been abused in the
church’s homes as a child. Marsh and accomplice
Leith Ray, now serving a life sentence for the 1994 murders of John and Josie
Harrisson, go before the parole board in September. He requested the help
last August to change his identity, to ease his move back into the community.
The Herald revealed
last week that Marsh, from prison, has threatened to sue his family and
victim-support lobby group the Sensible Sentencing Trust, who he says have
been "judging" him. In a letter written
from Rangipo Prison, he said his family had lied about abuse he suffered as a
child. The Herald can now
reveal Marsh was offered $21,125 by the Salvation Army last September for
abuse he suffered as a child in Hodderville Boys Home in Putaruru. A letter from the
Salvation Army to Marsh’s then lawyer, Sonja Cooper, last year said the
church was prepared to pay to have Marsh’s tattoos removed and to have his
name changed by deed poll, plus give him $5000 for counselling sessions. If he did not need
counselling he could use the money as he saw fit. "For our part this
satisfies the need for certainty and finality," says the letter, signed
by referral officer Murray Houston. It also promised to pay Marsh a $15,000
lump sum and legal fees of $1000, plus GST. Marsh has already been
receiving ACC-funded trauma counselling for abuse he says he suffered as a
child. Salvation Army
spokesman Major Alistair Herring said he could not talk about individual
cases. He said most claims
against the church had been settled in the past 12 months. Only a few were
left. Marsh’s sister, Rowene
Marsh-Potaka, said she remembered Marsh going to the boys’ home. She said her family
were furious Marsh was claiming he suffered abuse while he lived with the
Marsh family, who adopted him as a baby. She had asked
Corrections Minister Paul Swain how an inmate could send out letters like
Marsh had. Marsh’s lawyer, Michael
Bott, has said he is investigating his client’s claims about abuse as a
child. |
