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Allegations of Abuse
in Institutions |
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A litany of sex charges is what a
former Salvation Army captain has been brought back to Timaru to face. A former Salvation Army officer
pleaded not guilty to 23 indecency and rape charges in the High Court at
Timaru yesterday. But at the start of his trial,
John Francis Gainsford, 69, of Auckland, pleaded guilty to a further four
charges (three of indecent assault on a girl aged under 12, and inducing a
girl then aged under 12 to do an indecent act on him) when he appeared before
Justice Fogarty and a jury of three men and nine women. The trial, which relates to
alleged offending at the Bramwell Booth Childrens Home near Temuka, in the
1970s, is expected to last at least two weeks. Gainsford, who was a captain in
the church at the time, managed the home from January 1973 to January 1975. He has pleaded not guilty to three
charges of rape, one of attempted rape, 10 of indecently assaulting girls
under 12, three charges of doing an indecent act on a girl under 12, inducing
a girl under 12 to do an indecent act (two charges), indecent assault on a
girl aged 12-16 (two charges) and two charges of indecently assaulting a boy
under 16. The eight complainants, seven women
and one male, were all living at the home while Gainsford was its manager. Crown counsel Tim Gresson said the
majority of the charges were representative, indicating repetitive patterns
of behaviour by Gainsford. It was alleged Gainsford digitally
penetrated the girls on occasions including when he gave them piggybacks,
when they took baths, and while reading to them in bed. One woman has alleged she was
raped by Gainsford on two separate occasions when he was on duty at night. Around Christmas 1974 Gainsford
admitted to his wife that he had been involved in inappropriate behaviour
with the children but denied any penetration. When spoken to by police he could
recall some of the complainants but would not comment on the allegations. The trial is expected to last at
least two weeks. --------------- CAPTION: ACCUSED: Former Salvation Army
officer John Francis Gainsford, in the High Court at Timaru yesterday. Photo:
Jess Parker |
