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Accusations of Abuse in Institutions

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The Southland Times
July 27, 2002

Abuse victims continue to come forward
by Kirsty MacNichol

Six Invercargill men who claim they suffered sexual abuse as children at the hands of Catholic brothers have reportedly come forward following publicity about such incidents in Christchurch.Allegations have been made that some pupils at Marylands, the St John of God Order's former residential school in Christchurch, were sexually abused before the 1970s.

In 1993, former Marylands brother Bernard Kevin McGrath was jailed for three years after admitting 10 indecencies against boys, half relating to his time at Marylands in the mid-1970s and the rest to his work in 1991 with the Hebron Trust.

In 1997, McGrath was jailed for nine months in Australia for child sex offences there. He has since been removed from the order.

Brother Peter Burke, the Australasian leader of the St John of God Order, met 19 men in Christchurch last week who claim they were abused as boys at Marylands. Among them was a Mataura man whose complaint was part of the 1993 case against McGrath.

He said he was now keen to set up a support group in Southland for "survivors" .He has been working with Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust manager Ken Clearwater, of Christchurch, who has become the first point of contact for many former pupils.

"We run support groups and workshops here for survivors and we've found that it's been an incredible healing tool," Mr Clearwater said.

"It's important that we get them to come forward so that they can get some counselling. That's probably the No 1 thing because a lot of these men out there have got a hell of a lot of troubles in their lives and if they can realise that part of that is what happened to them as kids, it helps them take that step forward to getting a healthy lifestyle." He was aware of five men living in Invercargill who claimed to have been abused at Marylands, plus one other who said he was abused by a brother at an Invercargill church when he was a child.

The Mataura man also stressed the importance of counselling and mutual support. When his case was brought to light, he was approved ACC support amounting to $4 a week for a year and six counselling sessions. Together there would be a stronger chance of recognition, counselling and possibly compensation, he said.

His proposed support network was not limited to Marylands. For example, there were probably former pupils of St Peter's College in Gore who were affected by a priest charged with similar offences in 1992, who would benefit from a support group, he said.

The man said the St John of God Order was taking the allegations seriously and those affected could come forward with confidence.

Christchurch detective John Borlase said a lot of people were confronting the church or confiding in the support group, but comparatively few appeared to be ready to lay a formal complaint with police. Anyone wanting to lay a complaint should contact their local police station, he said.