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Accusations of Abuse in Institutions

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The Waikato Times
June 25, 2002

Police prepared for abuse claims
NZPA

A senior Christchurch detective will oversee any fresh complaints that arise from the sex scandal within the Catholic St John of God Order.

The order has secretly paid out $300,000 to five complainants who allege they were abused at Marylands, a former Christchurch residential school, in the 1960s and 1970s. Four Christchurch brothers, none of whom remain working for the order, have had claims made against them.

The St John of God Order in Australia has already paid out $4 million to 24 intellectually disabled men who were sexually abused there. A total of 20 brothers in Australia and New Zealand have been accused of abuse. The order is calling for other people who believe they are victims of abuse by brothers to come forward, or go to the police.

Detective Inspector Peter Read said any future complaints would be overseen by Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Landreth.

Meanwhile a report from The Press, Christchurch, yesterday incorrectly reported that religious orders in the Catholic Church had used collection-plate donations to finance payments to victims of sexual abuse. The Press now accepts that the orders made the payments from reserves built up primarily from running hospitals and schools, and from the past sales of properties.