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THE former president and vice-president of St Stanislaus College were charged with 32 sex offences in a day of explosive developments in a police paedophile investigation yesterday. Priest Peter Dwyer, 65, from a church property in Armidale and Brother John Gaven, 66, from church lodgings in Marsfield were living within 150m of Catholic primary schools at the time of their arrest. Priests, teachers 'in paedophile ring' The college revealed Gaven was thrown off the Bathurst property in July after he arrived for World Youth Day events, a week after a warrant naming him as an accused was served on the school. Police removed 20 bags and five boxes of items from Gaven's house in Vincentia St, Marsfield before he was charged with 28 offences. The Vincentian Brother joined the order at 18 and was described in a church newsletter in July as having, "always been passionate about youth." St Stanislaus website He has been an adviser to the St Vincent De Paul national youth team for more than a decade and, after finishing a 30-year career in colleges and seminaries, began working with HIV/AIDS sufferers in 1992. Police went to Dwyer's home in Dangar St, Armidale before he was charged with four offences. He has left the Vincentian order and worked in northern NSW. Gaven's lawyer Greg Walsh said his client was innocent and claimed the case had been tainted by police and internet postings by one of the alleged victims. "He emphatically denies all of the allegations," Mr Walsh said. School principal John Edwards said the college would help police as they investigate the allegations before confirming that he had directed Gaven be asked to leave the school property on July 9. Dwyer and Gaven were bailed to appear in Bathurst Local Court on September 15. On Tuesday the college's former chaplain Brian Spillane, 65, had 33 sex offence charges against five students upgraded - to bring the total number of charges of 93. Meanwhile, the police investigation of sex abuse allegations from the 1980s at St Stanislaus has also begun investigating a second Bathurst school - the Anglican All Saints College. But police do not believe, at this stage, that the two cases are linked. Police swooped on a 63-year-old former teacher at his home in Queensland yesterday and charged him with three counts of indecent assault on a boy in 1973. Superintendent Michael Goodwin said police had new complaints, including from women, which have emerged since news of the investigation broke last week Daily Telegraph (4-9-2008) Gemma Jones/ Vikki Campion/ Samantha Williams |
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A CATHOLIC brother and a former teacher have been arrested over an alleged pedophile ring at a Catholic boys school in Bathurst in central west New South Wales, police say. The 66-year-old brother, from Marsfield in Sydney's north, and a 63-year-old teacher living in Brisbane were arrested this morning, police said. Both were arrested over offences that police allege took place at St Stanislaus' College from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. No charges have yet been laid. Police suspect dozens of boys may have been abused during alleged hypnotic "prayer" sessions at the boarding school. The names of at least three former staffers of the college were listed on a police search warrant when detectives arrived at the school in July to search its archives. Former priest Brian Spillane, 65, from Narwee in Sydney's south-west, was charged in May with 33 offences and last night had a further 60 charges laid against him after eight more alleged victims came forward. As a result of additional information, police said their investigation had been expanded to two other secondary schools in Bathurst. Currently, 615 boys attend St Stanislaus', of which 188 are borders. St Stanislaus' principal John Edwards said last week he first became aware of the allegations "several years ago" and referred the claims to police. He said the allegations included claims of late-night prayer and chanting sessions in which boys were sexually abused. AAP (3-9-2008) |
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THE police sex crimes squad has been called in to investigate a flood of new abuse claims involving St Stanislaus College as a former college boarder subjected to horrific late-night prayer sessions told his story yesterday. Dallas McInerney, 35, condemned the Bathurst school - which only this week was allegedly encouraging its students to read Penthouse magazines - for retaining the Vincentian Fathers as governors while police investigated claims up to four staff were involved in abuse of students. School principal John Edwards confirmed yesterday the school was served with two warrants on July 2, with the names of three former staff members listed under the title "accused" and that the police were seeking documents and material from the school which was referred to as a crime scene. As sex-crime police began work on the case with Bathurst detectives, Mr McInerney yesterday described the "unorthodox" prayer sessions as filled with "chanting, music, no electric lighting, the whole atmosphere was one of sedation". Police have spoken at length to Mr McInerney, who lives in Sydney. He declined to speak about the contents of his statement to police but said his former school needed to do more. "The college needs to take more drastic action than it has to date, the Vincentians should withdraw themselves from the governing council of the college while the investigation is ongoing," he said. He fired off a letter to Mr Edwards this week after reading the school's newsletter in which a teacher was asked what he considered recommended reading for every teenage boy. Part of the answer was reproduced as "PeCENSOREDse" but Mr McInerney said he read it as a reference to the magazine Penthouse and he said he was shocked such a reference would be made in a newsletter, which also informed parents of sexual abuse claims. A police spokesman said the response from former students yesterday had prompted police to call in the state crime command's sex crimes squad. Daily Telegraph (28-8-2008) Gemma Jones |
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POLICE investigating claims up to 40 boys were sexually abused over seven years by priests and teachers at this exclusive private school have urged more alleged victims to come forward. Detective Superintendent Michael Goodwin said today police understood the difficulties involved in confronting the past and would offer witnesses their full support. "All I can say is that NSW police force will be providing every form of support we possibly can to make the process for them as trouble-free as possible. The walls of St Stanislaus college in Bathurst have housed budding Wallabies players and the bravest of war correspondents but an unimaginable secret has been stored for more than 20 years. A former priest at the school has been charged with 33 counts, a former teacher has already been convicted of several offences and two other teachers are under investigation. Do you kow anything about this case? Call us in confidence on 02 9288 3413 or tell us via the feedback form below. For legal reasons we will not be able to publish most comment but we will be monitoring it for story tip-offs. Supt Goodwin would not reveal how many suspects are being investigated but said police inquiries had not led officers to any other schools where former St Stanislaus staff may have also been employed. "All of the lines of inquiry that have been presented to us have been explored and are being investigated,'' he said. "There's no loose ends being let go at this stage. "I can confirm that there's no one at the school at the moment that is subject to that inquiry.'' In his first interview, a brave young man who used the internet to expose the abuse revealed the full extent of the horror at the school. He is one of two victims who have told The Daily Telegraph how they were herded into a prayer room by a priest chanting "hypnotic" spells in tongues. Inside the prayer room, the boarders who attended the school in the 1980s, said they were subjected to horrendous sexual abuse or forced to assault each other. St Stanislaus has enjoyed a reputation for sporting excellence and tutoring future representatives of Australia. A former boarder now aged 35, who cannot be identified because of a court suppression order, started at St Stanislaus in the '80s because it was the only private school in the area his family could afford. He alleged the abuse began after a priest took him aside for private tutoring about the Catholic Church and God two months after he arrived at the school and the horror turned into a twice-weekly event. "They got a group between eight and 12 of us together and they'd just start chanting and I would wake up during these sessions and see what was going on," he said. "It was like an orgy." The second victim, who declined to give permission to be named, described the horrific night time prayer sessions in the staff's quarters under candle light. "You'd pass out . . . they spoke in tongues . . . another element was called laying on hands, that was the basis he would engage in physical contact," the victim said. He said the students were all small in stature and many of them emotionally troubled. It is expected the victim count could reach 40 but some people have been unwilling to talk about the past. "I know of people who have been contacted, they said, 'Yes, you're right but I haven't told my wife what happened to me I'm not going to tell you guys (police)," he said. Principal John Edwards said yesterday the school viewed any allegation of sexual misconduct with "grave concern" and had been working with the police. Inside the prayer room, the boarders who attended the school in the 1980s, said they were subjected to horrendous sexual abuse or forced to assault each other. St Stanislaus has enjoyed a reputation for sporting excellence and tutoring future representatives of Australia. A former boarder now aged 35, who cannot be identified because of a court suppression order, started at St Stanislaus in the '80s because it was the only private school in the area his family could afford. He alleged the abuse began after a priest took him aside for private tutoring about the Catholic Church and God two months after he arrived at the school and the horror turned into a twice-weekly event. "They got a group between eight and 12 of us together and they'd just start chanting and I would wake up during these sessions and see what was going on," he said. "It was like an orgy." The second victim, who declined to give permission to be named, described the horrific night time prayer sessions in the staff's quarters under candle light. "You'd pass out . . . they spoke in tongues . . . another element was called laying on hands, that was the basis he would engage in physical contact," the victim said. He said the students were all small in stature and many of them emotionally troubled. It is expected the victim count could reach 40 but some people have been unwilling to talk about the past. "I know of people who have been contacted, they said, 'Yes, you're right but I haven't told my wife what happened to me I'm not going to tell you guys (police)," he said. Principal John Edwards said yesterday the school viewed any allegation of sexual misconduct with "grave concern" and had been working with the police. Daily Telegraph (26-8-2008) Gemma Jones |
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