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Accusations of Abuse in Institutions

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Index: Accusations in Institutions

<<< earlier News Reports May-Aug 2003 later >>>

2003-0828 - The Press - Consedine resigns
by Jarrod Booker - The Lyttelton Catholic priest accused of sexual misconduct has officially resigned from his Canterbury parish. Father Jim Consedine is reportedly back in Canterbury after attending a Sydney programme specialising in treating clergy for violation of professional boundaries, sexual disorders, and abuse. He is alleged to have engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour against four women, dating back to the early 1970s

2003-0827 - One News - Govt may examine abuse claims
The Salvation Army abuse scandal could be about to ensnare the government, as claims of abuse suffered by children at homes run by the organisation keep coming. There have been revelations some were put in Salvation Army homes as wards of the state, meaning the government may have to investigate.

2003-0826 - One News - Salvation Army abuse claims mount
Claims of abuse are starting to pile up for the Salvation Army - a church group renowned for its work across New Zealand. ONE News earlier revealed the story of an Auckland man who claimed abuse in a Salvation Army home decades ago - since then, the tally of alleged abuses now being investigated has risen to 36 cases. Salvation Army Commissioner Shaw Clifton says more details are coming to light.

2003-0816 - The Press - Remand on bail
A foundry worker who allegedly made false accusations he had been sexually abused by a brother of the St John of God order has been remanded on bail until next month. Justin Todd Richardson, 34, a former pupil of Marylands School, faces charges of intent to defraud and obtaining $95,000 as a "pastoral gesture" from the order by false pretences

2003-0808 - The Press - St John of God pays legal bill
by Yvonne Martin - A public spat between a Catholic order at the centre of a sex-abuse scandal and a lawyer over an unpaid $70,000 legal bill has been resolved. Grant Cameron, who represents nine of 56 complainants paid $4 million compensation by St John of God, began legal action this week to force the order into paying a legal bill of $70,000. His clients were told they may be liable for the bill.

2003-0806 - The Press - Order calls lawyer's actions disgraceful
by Yvonne Martin - The Catholic order at the centre of a sex-abuse scandal has taken a swipe at a prominent Christchurch lawyer for rattling clients over an unpaid $70,000 legal bill. Brother Peter Burke, the Australasian head of the St John of God Order, has hit out at Grant Cameron for suggesting that abuse victims could be liable if the order did not pay its bill. "I can't believe this, quite frankly," said Brother Burke last night. "To use vulnerable people as decoys I think is intolerable. It's just disgraceful."

2003-0805 - The Press - Sisters to meet with accusers of abuse
by Yvonne Martin - A Christchurch order of nuns has agreed to front up to a group of women who claim they were physically abused as girls at its former orphanage. The Sisters of Nazareth have been accused, by 15 women who lived at Nazareth House in Sydenham, mostly in the 1950s and 1960s, of cruelty. The complainants, represented by a Whangarei lawyer, are undergoing assessment by an Australian psychiatrist and psychologist, on behalf of the sisters.

2003-0805 - The Press - Reports may have affected trial
Reports in The Press about the case of Justin Todd Richardson -- charged with making a false complaint of sexual abuse -- may have prejudiced the chances of a fair trial, the defence alleged in the Christchurch District Court. The claim in a memorandum to the court led Judge Brian Callaghan to sound a warning about publicity on cases before pleas have been entered. Richardson's defence counsel, Gerald Lascelles, also asked the judge to refer the matter to the Solicitor-General as a possible contempt of court.

2003-0723 - The Press - Sex-case brothers asked to return
by Yvonne Martin - Police have dropped investigations against two Catholic brothers in Australia after a Christchurch complainant said he lied about abuse. But they are pursuing action against four Sydney-based brothers from the St John of God Order, asking them to return voluntarily to face charges in New Zealand. A former brother, now living in northern Queensland, will also be asked to return

2003-0722 - The Press - Case waits on police files disclosure
by David Clarkson - Justin Todd Richardson, charged with making a false complaint of sexual abuse against a former brother at Marylands School, was further remanded on bail for a fortnight when he appeared in the Christchurch District Court yesterday. Defence counsel Gerald Lascelles told Judge Jane McMeeken that he was still waiting for disclosure of the police files on the case.

2003-0712 - The Press - Catholic staff pursued
Detectives investigating historic sexual abuse allegations against brothers from a former Christchurch Catholic residential school are trying to trace early staff members. Police are investigating allegations from 40 complainants against former brothers from Marylands, run by the St John of God Order. One former brother, Bernard Kevin McGrath, already faces 32 sex charges, and seven other former colleagues are under investigation in Australia.

2003-0708 - The Press - Bishops to mull panel on sex abuse
Catholic bishops meet today to discuss setting up a national body to evaluate sex abuse allegations. Until now complainants unhappy with the way the Church has handled allegations of abuse had few options of appeal. Protocol committees or religious orders have occasionally hired independent consultants to review cases -- often a retired non-Catholic high court judge.

2003-0704 - The Press - Bogus sex-complainant in hiding
by Yvonne Martin - Justin Richardson, the man who says he lied about abuse by Catholic brothers, has gone to ground as fellow complainants threaten to lynch him. Richardson told police he conjured up his story of sexual abuse at Marylands School to get money from the St John of God Order and has been charged with laying a false complaint. He is also charged with obtaining a $95,000 payout by a false pretence -- his share of a $4 million settlement offered to 56 complainants.

2003-0703 - The Press - Complainant admits lie
by David Clarkson - A key complainant in the St John of God sex scandal has told the police he lied about being abused by religious brothers at a Catholic residential school. In a new twist, Justin Todd Richardson -- who appears to have spent a $95,000 payout he received from the order -- has been charged with laying a false complaint. The 34-year-old foundry worker appeared in court yesterday on charges of making a false complaint of sodomy and indecent assault in a written statement to police.

2003-0703 - One News - Sex abuse claims under scrutiny
Police are to revisit claims by 40 men that they were sexually abused at a Christchurch school run by Catholic brothers after one was charged with making false complaints. Justin Todd Richardson, aged 34, was paid $95,000 compensation after claiming he was abused by members of the St John of God order of brothers. Detective Sergeant Earl Borrell says police have discovered that Richardson was not at the school during the late 1970s, when he said he was abused.

2003-0702 - The Press - Sex-abuse scandal crosses Tasman
by Yvonne Martin - Seven religious brothers in Australia are under investigation and could face extradition for alleged abuse of boys at a Catholic residential school in Christchurch. The expansion of the inquiry across the Tasman is the latest development in the child sex-abuse scandal dogging the St John of God Order. One former brother, Bernard Kevin McGrath of Christchurch, already faces 32 sex charges.

2003-0630 - The Press - Service honours abuse victims
by Ryan Keen - It was a memorial service for the living, as well as the dead. The men allegedly abused as boys at a Christchurch Catholic residential school continued their healing process yesterday at St Peter's Anglican Church in Riccarton. It was the latest step for the more than 70 complainants of sexual abuse allegedly suffered at Marylands, a Christchurch school for boys with intellectual and learning disabilities run by the St John of God Order until 1984.

2003-0610 - The Press - Police called in over letter sent to bishop
by David King - Police have been called in to investigate a threatening letter sent to the Anglican Bishop of Christchurch. Bishop David Coles said the letter had been received two weeks ago. "We have referred the matter to the police. It is in the hands of the police. I am not making any comment; they are making inquiries." He said the letter contained threats and that was the reason for the church's silence on the issue

2003-0607 - The Press - 18 named as victims
Eighteen boys are named as victims in the 32 sex offences alleged against Bernard Kevin McGrath, a former brother at St John of God's Marylands School.
McGrath, 56, appeared in the Christchurch District Court on one charge of sodomy a fortnight ago, but 31 further charges had been laid when he appeared yesterday.

2003-0606 - One News - Catholic brother faces new charges
The number of charges against a former Catholic brother accused of sex abuse today rose to 31. Some 30 fresh charges were laid against Bernard Kevin McGrath in the Christchurch District Court.

2003-0603 - The Press - Sex abuse trust funds running out
by David Courtney - Funding for the country's only trust supporting male victims of sexual abuse will end in three weeks. The charity, Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust, supports the bulk of the men with claims of sexual abuse against brothers from the St John of God Order's former Marylands school. The Christchurch-based trust works with 225 male victims of sexual abuse in New Zealand

2003-0530 - The Press - Now I can say to him 'rest in peace, bro'
by David Courtney - A promise made at a Christchurch graveside has been kept. Dave (not his real name) swore he would get justice for the big brother who protected him when they were abused as children at the St John of God order's Marylands school in the 1960s. His brother died in 2000, aged 41. Dave believes it was the torment of living with the sexual abuse they suffered that drove him to an early grave.

2003-0527 - The Press - Evil done
Editorial - The extent of the wrongdoing that went on at Marylands, the St John of God school in Christchurch, is in danger of being submerged. The sheer number of boys and teachers involved, the closeness of the events to Christchurch citizens, and the frequency around the world of Church abuse tend to dull perceptions. The facts are numbing. The evil can seem banal because it appears commonplace.

2003-0524 - The Press - Ex-brother appears in court on sex cha
by David Clarkson - A former brother at St John of God's Marylands school has appeared in court charged with sodomy. The arrest of Bernard McGrath was the first in the police operation investigating brothers and staff at the Halswell residential school. Bernard McGrath, whose 56th birthday was on Thursday -- the day he was arrested -- appeared in the Christchurch District Court yesterday and was remanded without plea for a fortnight.

2003-0524 - NZ Herald - Man arrested over alleged sexual abuse
A 56-year-old man has been arrested over allegations of sexual abuse of a pupil at Marylands Catholic School, Christchurch, during the 1970s. He was to appear in court late yesterday.

2003-0523 - One News - Catholic school abuse charge
A Catholic brother has been charged with sexually abusing a male pupil at a christchurch boarding school in the 1970s.
Bernard McGrath, 56, appeared in the Christchurch District Court on Friday, but entered no plea. He was remanded on bail

2003-0503 - The Press - Dirty laundry
by Yvonne Martin - Hundreds of Christchurch women worked in a convent laundry like the one depicted in a new movie, The Magdalene Sisters. Only now is society realising what life was like for these girls in exile.
They became known worldwide as "laundry slaves" -- unpaid women and teenage girls who worked in large commercial laundries run by Catholic orders.