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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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Nineteen cases of
alleged sexual abuse - including two of rape - have been revealed by an
inquiry into an Army cadet school. The historic abuses at
the Waiouru cadet school are recorded in the report by retired High Court
judge David Morris. He said all those who took part in attacking another
cadet were guilty of assault. Defence Minister Phil
Goff said the instances of alleged abuse were "serious criminal
offences" and urged those affected to take police action. The inquiry also
examined the events surrounding the killing of 17-year-old cadet Grant Bain
in 1981. Mr Bain was fatally
shot in the neck by cadet Andrew Read. Read, who himself died
in a forestry accident in 1998, pleaded guilty to a charge of carelessly
discharging a firearm causing death and was fined $200 and given 200 hours of
community service. But Justice Morris said
Read should have been charged with manslaughter and believes he would have
been imprisoned for four years. Justice Morris said
mistakes were made by the authorities and the firearms charge was
inappropriate. Mr Goff has written a
letter of apology to the Bain family and will meet them to discuss
compensation. The inquiry into the
cadet school, which operated between 1948 and 1991, was ordered in October
last year by then Defence Minister Mark Burton after former cadet Ian Fraser
published a report on the internet that detailed physical, sexual and
psychological abuse at the school. Justice Morris'
findings record numerous alleged incidents of "bullying" and
assault, but he says there was no culture of violence at the school and that
sexual abuse of cadets was extremely rare. "A contention a
culture of violence existed throughout the existence of the school is not
supported by my inquiries and is a gross overstatement." Justice Morris said in
some years, a few, mainly senior cadets, behaved "like a gang of
thugs" and bullied a "limited" number of cadets. He said the subjects of
that bullying tended to be cadets who had not met the standard of hygiene or
who had "dragged the chain". Mr Fraser told the
Herald that Justice Morris' findings backed up his allegations and the
acknowledgement that there had been some abuse was enough for him. "I'm happy that
the Government has pretty much admitted that mistakes were made over Grant
Bain's killing. Hopefully the Bains can now get some closure on the
incident." Mr Fraser said he would
not lay police complaints over the physical abuse he suffered, but urged
those who had been seriously sexually or physically abused to do so. Defence Force chief Air
Marshal Bruce Ferguson said it appeared a number of cadets had to put up with
treatment meted out by their comrades which "no person should have been
exposed to in any circumstances". "For that I
express my sincere regrets." Mr Goff said, other
than the Bain family, the Government was not looking at providing
compensation for alleged victims of abuse at the school. |
