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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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Wellington: A nun has
denied damaging the eardrum of a child in her care more than 30 years ago by
slapping the side of her head. The assault claim is
one of the allegations a 45-year-old woman, whose name is suppressed, has
made against nuns of the Sisters of Mercy in the High Court at Wellington. The claimant, who is
suing four Catholic organisations for $550,000, says the sister, whose name
is also suppressed, slapped her after catching her looking at another girl’s
schoolbook at St Josephs Orphanage, Upper Hutt. She said that for years
her ear was sore, sometimes with a discharge, and that she was given no
medical attention for it until it was fixed surgically after she left school.
The nun yesterday
denied slapping her. The defence has said it
will call an ear, nose and throat specialist who will say infection, rather
than injury, was the more likely cause of the claimant’s ear damage. But the claimant’s own
expert witness said a blow was almost certainly the cause. The claimant, who had
little contact with her parents after their marriage ended, lived at St
Josephs Orphanage from 1968 to 1973, and spent several months with foster
parents before boarding for three years at St Marys College, Wellington, from
1974. She says she was
emotionally, verbally and physically abused by nuns, and that a priest
sexually abused her at St Josephs. She also says her
grandfather sexually abused her when she visited him, and other men sexually
abused her during holidays that Catholic Social Services arranged. She has sued the
Wellington Roman Catholic Archdiocese, its social agency, Catholic Social
Services, the Sisters of Mercy (Wellington) Trust Board, and St Josephs
Orphanage Trust Board. The claim is being
defended on factual and legal grounds. After three weeks of hearings, it was
adjourned yesterday until September 5, when more nuns are expected to give
evidence. The nun accused of
injuring the claimant’s ear said the sisters tried to make the orphanage a
home for the children. She did not remember
using corporal punishment, or shouting at or abusing children. She did not
see anyone beat a child, she said. |
