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Accusations of Abuse in Institutions

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Index: Accusations in Institutions

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2003-1230 - The Press - Sisters make genuine effort to restore justice
Letter to the Editor by Robyn Cave - The Sisters of Nazareth appear to have genuinely sought reconciliation and peace with those whose lives have been violated while in the care of their order. The least the media can do is to report with sensitivity and respect, rather than with its continuing propensity for subtle trivialisation and sensationalism

2003-1224 - The Press - Nuns give gifts to sex abuse claimants
Catholic nuns have donated cars, overseas trips, home appliances and other gifts to victims who claim they were abused as children in two Christchurch orphanages. The gifts are part of an undisclosed settlement reached by the Sisters of Nazareth with 17 complainants who allege physical and sexual abuse while in the nuns' care at Nazareth House and St Joseph's home. The complaints span from the 1930s to the 1960s.

2003-1224 - One News - Nuns do deal with abuse victims
A Catholic order of nuns has done a deal with 17 people alleging abuse at its Christchurch orphanages. The men and women complained to the Sisters of Nazareth about their time at Nazareth House and St Joseph's Home between the 1930s and 1960s. The Catholic church has now apologised to the alleged victims and given away thousands of dollars in gifts.

2003-1209 - The Press - Jail over false abuse claim
by Dean Calcott - One man has been jailed and another remanded for sentence after both admitted making false sexual-abuse allegations against a religious order. Justin Todd Richardson, 35, was jailed for a year yesterday on charges of fraud and making a false statement alleging he had been abused while attending a school run by the St John of God order. He had earlier received a payout from the order of more than $100,000. Defence counsel Gerald Lascelles told the Christchurch District Court Richardson, who was a first offender, had a long psychiatric history, his doctor saying he was a deeply disturbed person.

2003-1209 - One News - CYF to look into Sally Army abuse
A group of people at the centre of the Salvation Amy abuse scandal is welcoming a decision by a government agency to investigate their claims. The former state wards have been asking Child, Youth and Family to intervene for months. But its inquiry won't deal with complaints from alleged victims who were not state wards. Eighty-four year old Jack (who's surname is not revealed) says good gardening is the one positive thing says he learned from his time in a Salvation Army children's home

2003-1208 - One News - Jail sentence for false abuse case
A man who defrauded the Catholic church with a false allegation of sexual abuse has been sentenced to jail for a year. Justin Richardson received more than $100,000 compensation after claiming he had been abused at a Christchurch residential school in the 1980s. Richardson made his claim when the Order of St John of God was embroiled in scandal and he was one of 56 former pupils accusing the order of abuse.

2003-1206 - The Press - Father Consedine's words
by Yvonne Martin - Jim Consedine was one of Christchurch's best-known Catholic priests, and even with the shame of sexual abuse claims, there are many who still stand by him. `He plays peek-a-boo in the street with my toddler. He offers to mind the kids for me when I'm sick and he plays a cheeky chicken song on his guitar to make the children hoot with laughter," said a woman from Father Jim Consedine's former Lyttelton parish.

2003-1129 - The Press - Police seek brothers' extradition
by Yvonne Martin - Three St John of God brothers who police are trying to extradite from Australia to face sex abuse charges in New Zealand are taking legal advice on their next move. A fourth man, a former St John of God brother now living in northern Queensland, has already returned voluntarily to face 10 sex charges. Warrants to arrest the three Catholic brothers, aged 56, 67, and 81 -- now living in New South Wales -- have been issued by the Christchurch District Court.

2003-1129 - NZ Herald - Catholic brothers to be charged with sex abuse
Three Catholic Brothers, aged 56, 67 and 81, will be extradited from Australia to face charges of sexual abuse committed in Christchurch up to 50 years ago. Police laid 47 charges against three Brothers from the St John of God Order yesterday after investigating complaints made by 39 former pupils of the Marylands Residential School.

2003-1128 - One News - Catholic brothers face sex charges
The police in Christchurch have laid 47 sex abuse charges against three brothers from the Catholic order St John of God, who are now living in Australia. Police say the charges are the result of a 10-month long investigation into historical complaints by 39 former pupils at the order's Marylands Residential School in Christchurch. The complaints date as far back as 1955.

2003-1122 - The Press - Family's lawyer bypassed
by Yvonne Martin - A Catholic Order at the centre of a sex abuse scandal sent an $80,000 cheque directly to a long-term psychiatric patient. The 44-year-old patient hid the St John of God Order's cheque at first, then tried to cash it a few days later. His family discovered what had happened and alerted its lawyer, who dissuaded the bank from cashing it.

2003-1121 - The Press - Church payout for dead victim
by Yvonne Martin - A Christchurch victim of a Catholic sex-abuse scandal is getting $35,000 compensation -- three years after his death. The St John of God Order has already paid out more than $4 million to 56 men abused as boys at its Marylands school, but this is the first offer made posthumously. It is among the latest "pastoral offers" made to 17 men last month. About half of them have accepted. The Christchurch victim died in 2000, aged 40.

2003-1119 - The Press - Payouts mixed blessing for order's victims
by Yvonne Martin - The historic Baptist Church in Oxford Terrace, with its towering columns and river views, was once the nearest thing Garry Savage could call home. After a night roaming inner-city streets -- drinking, gluesniffing, and being moved on by the police -- he could always crash out in a sleeping bag at the church's grand entrance. But the 32-year-old invalid beneficiary and father, nicknamed Speedy, has had a surprise change of fortunes

2003-1117 - Dominion Post - Former priest to be extradited
A former Wellington Catholic priest trying to avoid being forcibly removed from Britain is set to have his day in Upper Hutt District Court after losing a High Court appeal against an extradition order over 19 child-sex assault charges. Alan Woodcock has lived in England since the late 1980s, but a High Court decision issued from London at the weekend ruled the 55-year-old must return to New Zealand to face trial on charges involving 12 boys dating back more than 20 years.

2003-1115 - One News - Former priest to face charges
Former Roman Catholic priest Alan Woodcock must return to New Zealand to face 19 sex abuse charges after losing his extradition challenge at London's High Court.

2003-1113 - The Press - Order hears complaints of cruelty
by Yvonne Martin - A Catholic Order of nuns has heard complaints of abuse from 18 people raised in their Christchurch orphanages and is now opening its cheque book. Fifteen women and three men have complained to the Sisters of Nazareth about cruelty during their early years at Nazareth House in Sydenham and St Joseph's Home in Halswell. The complaints span several decades from the 1930s.

2003-1112 - One News - Salvation Army letters cause upset
The Salvation Army is being accused of trying to avoid financial liability over claims of abuse in its children's homes. It is investigating allegations of bad treatment in its institutions, but its lawyers are now writing to alleged victims ruling out any legal right to compensation. One alleged victim of abuse, Fay Chase, says she is still in shock about the letter she received. Chase says she suffered physical abuse as a nine-year-old in a Salvation Army home, one of dozens of allegations the organisation is investigating.

2003-1108 - The Press - Abuse complainant sues Catholic Church
by Yvonne Martin - A Christchurch woman is suing the Catholic Church over its handling of a complaint she laid against a prominent but now disgraced priest. Bonnie Quilter, a Shirley invalid beneficiary, filed documents in the High Court yesterday, seeking exemplary damages and an inquiry into the Church's abuse complaints procedures. Ms Quilter is one of four women who laid complaints of sexual misconduct against Lyttelton priest Father Jim Consedi

2003-1108 - The Press - Order to pay more to abuse victims
by Yvonne Martin - A Catholic order embroiled in a sex- abuse scandal is about to make more payouts, on top of the $4 million-plus it has already awarded. The St John of God Order made the first offers of compensation last March to 56 men allegedly abused at a Christchurch residential school. Payouts to former Marylands pupils ranged from about $30,000 to more than $100,000. Now the order has made financial offers to another 17 men. This time it refused to say what the total offer was worth, while the men were considering their letters.

2003-1106 - One News - Ex priest loses extradition appeal
A former priest who is resisting being extradited to New Zealand to face sex charges has lost his appeal against extradition in London. Lawyers for Alan Woodcock have been arguing against an extradition order, saying Woodcock wouldn't get a fair trial in New Zealand.

2003-1104 - The Press - Nuns to meet accusers
by Yvonne Martin - Fifteen women who claim they were abused as girls by Catholic nuns in a former Christchurch orphanage are meeting the sisters' order. Complaints against the Sisters of Nazareth from former residents of Nazareth House in Sydenham and St Joseph's Home in Halswell are being mediated in Christchurch this week. The complaints of cruelty span several decades from the 1930s.

2003-1022 - The Press - Recanting may not mean reimbursing
by Leah Haines - People paid compensation for sexual abuse may not have to repay the money if they later recant their claims. ACC confirmed yesterday that the corporation would definitely pursue people who had lied about being sexually abused to get ACC payouts. However, those who thought they had been abused and later realised they had not would not necessarily be hounded for the money back. Their compensation payments could be stopped, however. ACC is waiting for Justin Todd Richardson to be sentenced for falsely accusing Catholic brothers at Christchurch's Marylands School of abusing him.

2003-1022 - Dominion Post - ACC may not chase false sex payouts
by Leah Haines - People paid compensation for sexual abuse may not have to refund it if they later recant. ACC confirmed yesterday that it would definitely pursue people who had lied about being sexually abused to get ACC payouts. But those thinking they had been abused who later realised they had not would not necessarily have to refund the money. However, their compensation could be stopped. ACC is waiting for Justin Todd Richardson to be sentenced for falsely accusing Catholic brothers at Christchurch's Marylands School of abusing him. It could review any ACC compensation paid to him on the understanding that he was abused at the school.

2003-1013 - One News - Salvation Army's choice questioned
There are claims of a conflict of interest in the Salvation Army's investigation into child abuse after the organisation appointed former Children's Commissioner to review the allegations. Roger McClay has been appointed by the Salvation Army to look into the dozens of allegations, but a number who claim they were abused as children while in the care of the Salvation Army, are questioning McClay's independence.

2003-1011 - The Press - 'Greed' adds to victims' woes
by John Henzell - The greed of a man who falsely claimed he was among those abused by Catholic brothers has added to the burden of the real victims, the Christchurch District Court has been told. Justin Richardson, 34, received more than $100,000 in compensation from the St John of God Order after claiming he was among more than 70 men who were sexually abused by Catholic brothers at Marylands school. Richardson acted as a spokesmen for some of the victims to force the order to raise its initial compensation offers, but police inquiries found he invented his own claim of being sodomised by two of the brothers. The reality was he suffered nothing worse than homesickness.

2003-1011 - One News - McClay to monitor abuse claims
The Salvation Army has appointed former children's commissioner Roger McClay as an independent monitor as it deals with allegations of abuse in its children's homes. A number of people have alleged they were physically or sexually abused in Salvation Army homes from the 1930s to the mid 1970s.

2003-1010 - One News - Man admits abuse claims false
A Christchurch man has admitted two dishonesty charges after obtaining thousands of dollars in compensation from a Catholic order. In the District Court on Friday Justin Todd Richardson admitted he received the $95,000 after falsely claiming he was sexually abused at a school run by the St John of God Order.

2003-1007 - The Press - Case a clamour for cash - lawyer
by Dean Calcott - The lawyer for a former brother charged with sexual offending at St John of God Marylands says the case appears to have become a "clamour for cash" and "scramble for payment". A depositions hearing for Bernard Kevin McGrath, 56, who faces 33 charges relating to alleged sexual abuse of boys aged under 16 at the school, was due to begin yesterday. However, Nigel Hampton, QC, said issues surrounding the case made a longer depositions hearing necessary. The St John of God order, which has paid compensation to many former pupils at the Christchurch school, appeared to have a policy of "you say it and we pay it", Mr Hampton said.

2003-0930 - One News - Sex abuse claims at Anglican home
The Bishop of Wellington is promising that any information unearthed about sexual abuse at a former Anglican boys home in Masterton will be handed to police. Bishop Thomas Brown issued a public statement of regret that a staff member at the former Sedgley Boys Home allegedly abused a 13-year-old boy, 41 years ago.

2003-0930 - One News - More sex abuse claims at Sedgley
More claims of sexual abuse have emerged from an Anglican boys' home. The church has launched an investigation into an initial complaint by one man who claims he was molested 41 years ago at the Sedgley Home in Masterton. The Wellington Bishop has expressed regret and hoped that it was an isolated incident. However, ONE News has spoken to other men who have broken their silence to talk of being abused.

2003-0929 - One News - Church investigates abuse claim
The Anglican church has expressed its regret at an accusation of sexual abuse at a Masterton boys' home 41 years ago. The complainant says he was molested by a staff member at the church-run Sedgley Boys Home, when he was 13. Police have investigated, but say charges won't be laid because the alleged offender is now in his 90s and senile. But the Bishop of Wellington, the Right Reverend Dr Thomas Brown, has acknowledged the allegation

2003-0925 - One News - Priest sentenced to five years' jail
A retired Catholic priest has been sentenced to five years' imprisonment in Dunedin after admitting 10 representative charges arising from sexual assaults on four boys between 1962 and 1972. Magnus William Murray, 76, now lives in Auckland. The offences were committed when Murray was acting in various roles for the Catholic Church in and around Dunedin.

2003-0912 - One News - Wider Salvation Army inquiry wanted
Claims of abuse in children's homes run by the Salvation Army may yet trigger an independent inquiry. The Salvation Army is conducting its own investigation but the minister responsible for children says some sort of action will have to be taken if there's evidence of widespread abuse. Some alleged abuse victims are demanding government action.

2003-0902 - Southland Times - A sorry parade continues
Perhaps the most shocking aspect of Father Magnus Murray's sexual offending is that so few people will be shocked at all. Those whose lives have in some way connected with that of the Gore-raised priest, now retired, will of course have stronger feelings. But for the wider community, the whole business is drearily, miserably, unsurprising. Murray last week joined the trudge of sexual offenders from the ranks of the clergy to appear in court to account for their antiquated evils. He admitted in the Dunedin District Court to 10 serious offences against four boys, spanning from the late 1950s to the early 1970s.

2003-0901 - Southland Times - Sadness over plea
The guilty plea of a retired priest originally from Gore to serious historic sexual abuse charges against young boys has provoked expressions of sadness in the Catholic community. Gore parish priest Father Pat McGettigan said Father Magnus Murray had accepted responsibility for crimes that violated the heart of family life. It questioned the credibility of the church to teach on questions of sexuality, he said

2003-0901 - Southland Times - Convicted priest left in 1972
by Rosemarie Smith - The retired Roman Catholic priest who has admitted indecency charges dating back 45 years against four Dunedin boys originally came from Gore. Father Magnus Murray, 76, admitted to 10 serious offences between 1958 and 1972 when he appeared in the Dunedin District Court on Friday and was remanded in custody. One victim, now in his mid-50s, went public in July with allegations against the priest and music teacher his staunch Catholic family regarded as a trusted friend.