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Accusations of Abuse in Institutions

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The Press
October 22, 2002

Group action urged against church order
by Yvonne Martin

Prominent Christchurch lawyer Grant Cameron is planning a group action against a Catholic order for alleged sex abuse suffered by boys of a former residential school.

So far, he says, more than 20 alleged victims are interested in pursuing action against the St John of God Order, which ran Marylands -- a school for boys with intellectual and learning disabilities until 1984.

But the action is also dividing the Marylands complainants, some of whom have faith that the order's ongoing negotiations will lead to adequate compensation.

Nearly 100 men contacted the order's Sydney headquarters in the four months since The Press broke the story of sexual allegations against four brothers from Marylands.

Brother Peter Burke, the Australasian head of the order who has made multiple trips to New Zealand to meet complainants, said 70 of the men have "genuine and serious" complaints about their time at Marylands. He said matters were progressing as fast as possible.

However, Mr Cameron is urging the men that a group action against the order is their only option. "They might reach a nice solution (with the church) in a diplomatic sense, which may not be anything like what they actually require or what they could otherwise obtain. It's highly likely that they are going to enjoy particular benefits of group co-ordinated action."

He has written to the order's lawyers and is expecting a response by the week's end. Mr Cameron is seasoned at leading group actions. He represented families from the Cave Creek tragedy, and former Lake Alice child patients, who received $6.5 million compensation and a Government apology last year for abuse they suffered at the hospital in the 1970s.

Ken Clearwater, manager of the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust, which supports 35 former Marylands boys, is advising men to continue their negotiations with Brother Burke.

If, in the end, they were unhappy with what the order had to offer, that was the time to consider legal action, he said.

One alleged victim, Justin Richardson, who went to Marylands aged eight in 1976 and left in 1983 -- is sticking with the order's negotiations and urged others to do the same.

"I don't like lawyers. They haven't got our best interests at heart," he said. "I don't like the idea of lawyers getting involved at this stage. I would rather people trust Brother Burke."

A group of Marylands men will be meeting at the trust's headquarters tonight to discuss the latest developments.