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Accusations of Abuse in Institutions

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NZ Herald
February 19, 2004

Ex-pupils tell of abuses
NZPA


A growing number of former Campbell Park School pupils are coming forward with stories of the abuse they suffered there.

Wellington lawyer Sonja Cooper said she had already heard from 10 or 11 men who had attended the Otekaieke school.

When the abuse allegations became public last month she had spoken to five ex-pupils. As media coverage of trouble at the institution continued, more contacted her.

Ms Cooper said none of them had spoken to the others about what had happened at Campbell Park in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was a special school for boys considered "intellectually impaired" or who had caused difficulties at regular schools.

"It's not like they all clubbed together. Their credibility is that they are coming from disparate parts of New Zealand." One of them lived in Australia.

She said she was preparing their cases to be taken to court, seeking compensation from the Government for the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse they said was inflicted by senior pupils and staff.

Their accounts were "remarkably consistent", Ms Cooper said.

She had also been contacted by a woman and her mother who used to live near Campbell Park, saying they had witnessed some of the bullying. They were willing to make statements in court.

"What we're discovering as we're hearing more and more stories is that those in care institutions, including foster placements, had a very high likelihood of abuse - physical, sexual, or emotional."

Some had suffered all three.

Ms Cooper has become known for her work with abuse victims, handling cases from former patients at Porirua Hospital and various Department of Social Welfare institutions.

Meanwhile, a former pupil said Campbell Park School in the 1930s and 40s was a cruel place but the pupils also had fun.

The man said he saw no sexual abuse at the school while he was there from 1936 to 1945.