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Accusations of Abuse in
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The Press
February 6, 2004
Ex-St John of God man to face sex charge trial
A
former St John of God brother has been committed to trial to face eight sex
charges after a District Court depositions hearing yesterday.
Justices of the Peace John O'Hara and Marie Fahey did not require the man,
whose name is suppressed, to appear for a High Court pre-trial hearing on March
5.
He was remanded on bail and allowed to travel back to his home in
He had returned voluntarily to
A video link to
The defendant was at the St John of God institution in the 1960s and 70s. While
there, he was seconded to the order's nearby hospital.
Crown prosecutor Karen South said one alleged victim, now 44, said the
defendant had sodomised him and forced him to perform oral sex.
Another, now 49, said he had been forced to fondle the brother's genitals and
to engage in mutual masturbation with him in the brother's bedroom, she said.
A 52-year-old alleged victim said he had been indecently assaulted in the
school pool a number of times, South said.
Another said he had been abused by another brother. Afterwards the defendant
asked him to describe what had happened and then assaulted him in the same way.
A 46-year-old man said he had been abused in the toilets and forced to engage
in mutual masturbation a number of times. He had been forced to have oral sex
once, and the defendant had simulated intercourse.
Alleged sexual misconduct by the defendant and others had been investigated by
police Operation Authority, Detective Sergeant Earl Borrell, of the
Christchurch District Crime Squad said.
Borrell told defence counsel Pip Hall he had become involved in the case in
February 2003. Brother Peter Burke had invited former
Borrell said the defendant had co-operated fully with police during the
inquiry. He had denied emphatically being involved with any sexual offending at
the school.
Burke said he had no personal knowledge of the activities alleged. He had come
to
After consulting advisers, he had decided it was time for the order to deal
with the allegations "in a transparent way".
He dealt personally with the five complainants, among more than 80 he visited.
He spoke only with people who approached him. He understood a number of others
had gone to the police "and didn't want to speak to me".
He was surprised by the number of people who had shown up: "I only
expected about half a dozen to come forward."
At all times during the visits, he listened to people's stories without trying
to investigate them. That would be up to the police. They were pastoral
meetings, all attended by the clinical psychologist.
He had a second pastoral meeting with those who requested one.
He had never mentioned the word "compensation" at those visits, Burke
said.
"I referred at all times to pastoral gestures" for the failure of
care at
"In reality, a pastoral gesture boiled down to money, did it not?"
asked Hall.
In some cases money was provided, said Burke, but in others the money paid for
other things.
Burke said he had spoken with the defendant over lunch in the town where he
lived. They had "quite a lengthy conversation" about the abuse
issues, said Burke, and he had told the defendant the Invercargill police had
sought his whereabouts. The police had not mentioned "the exact nature of
their inquiry with him", he said.
Hall reserved his defence, saying the defendant accepted that a prima facie
case had been made.
A High Court trial date will be set at the March pre-trial hearing.