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SEX ABUSE AT ST STANISLAUS?


What we have here is a mixture of Ritual Abuse, Recovered Memory, Paedophile Rings and allegations that originated on the Internet i.e. a concoction of every fantasy that has launched outbreaks of hysteria world-wide since the 1980s. Also the guy who "blew the whistle" on the alleged abuse had been expelled from the school.

Finally the Australian police seem to be encouraging former students to make allegations of abuse.  It is one thing to investigate a crime and search for evidence that may solve it;  it is quite another to invite people to declare that a crime occurred decades ago. When combined with the lure of "compensation",  this is an invitation to make false allegations.  

Rory Connor
12 September 2008

(A) 13 Former Students Allege Abuse At Australian Catholic School
AFP Aug 27, 2008

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jXKWJU3gb0RIuRKD10n18NqFK5UA

[ QUOTE: [Abuse] "occurred in group chanting sessions during which students would pass out.
"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."

And presumably they then forgot about it for 30 years? ]

SYDNEY (AFP) — Australian police said Wednesday they were investigating allegations that 13 former students were molested at a private Catholic boarding school for boys nearly 30 years ago.

The abuse allegedly occurred at the prestigious St Stanislaus' College in Bathurst, west of Sydney, for about six years between the late 1970s and early 1980s.

"At this stage we're looking at 13 victims and we're following up those lines of inquiry at the moment," Detective Superintendent Michael Goodwin said.

Goodwin would not reveal how many suspects were being investigated but said there was no one teaching at the school at the moment who was under suspicion.

A 65-year-old former priest, who reportedly worked at the school in the 1980s, was arrested in May and faces 33 charges relating to sexual assault and gross acts of indecency on juveniles aged between 10 and 18.

School principal John Edwards said that he was served with a search warrant last month which listed the names of three former staff members.

He said he had first heard about the allegations some years ago when the college received some "Internet material" which included claims of late-night prayer and chanting sessions in which boys were sexually abused.

He said he had immediately referred the allegations to the police.

"Those circumstances where people have betrayed trust, it is a matter of grave concern and shame, and it needs to be addressed comprehensively in order to protect children in the future," Edwards said.

One of the alleged victims told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that his abuse began when a priest took him aside for private tutoring on religion. It later occurred in group chanting sessions during which students would pass out.

"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 allegations come just weeks after the leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI, publicly expressed his "shame" over the "evils" of clerical child abuse during a visit to Australia.

Benedict told a mass for clergy in July he was "deeply sorry" for the abuse of children by predatory priests and called for the guilty to be punished and for victims to be compensated.

(B) 'Paedophile Ring' Charges at Bathurst Boys' School
The Canberra Times, BY VINCENT MORELLO, 28 August 2008

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/
paedophile-ring-charges-at-bathurst-boys-school/1256208.aspx#

[ How many genuine "paedophile rings" have been discovered in the world so far - and I don't mean sharing child pornography on the Internet. ]

For years, Father Brian Spillane presided over a flock of impressionable boys at Bathurst's St Stanislaus College.

Now, police suspect dozens of those boys were abused during hypnotic ''prayer'' sessions.

The top NSW boarding school, in central west NSW, is reeling after 13 former students alleged sexual abuse by staff during the 1970s and early 1980s.

The 65-year-old former priest faces 33 charges after allegations a paedophile ring of priests and staff operated at the school, which has boarders and day students.

He was charged on May 23 with offences relating to sexual assault and gross acts of indecency of boys aged between 10 and 18.

One alleged victim, who finished Year 7 at the college in 1986 before he was expelled, blew the whistle on Spillane's alleged sex offences.

The shocking revelations yesterday prompted one former student to tell his story of abuse at the school in 1971, for which he eventually received an out-of-court settlement.

The man, who asked only to be known as John, said he was sexually abused three times in April 1971.

''I still remember it,'' John said yesterday .

''I carry that stench on my back ever since the day it happened.

''I was a day boy and I was not the only victim back then.''

In the mid-1990s, he contacted the Vincentian order of priests, which run the school and operate separately from the Bathurst Catholic diocese.

He eventually settled out of court for just over $40,000.

He said criminal proceedings against the priest never went past the committal hearing because of lack of evidence.

Currently, 615 boys attend St Stanislaus, of which 188 are borders.

St Stanislaus's principal John Edwards said he first became aware of the allegations ''several years ago'' and referred the claims to police.

''The college received some internet material which contained allegations that I think are linked to the ones that are currently taking place,'' he said yesterday.

''Those matters were referred to the police some years ago.''

He said the material included claims of late night prayer and chanting sessions in which boys were sexually abused.

Police have issued scant information but urge other victims of alleged abuse to contact them.

Detective Superintendent Michael Goodwin would not reveal how many suspects were being investigated, but said none still worked at the school. ''I can confirm that there's no one at the school at the moment that is subject to that inquiry. At this stage, we're looking at 13 victims and we're following up those lines of inquiry at the moment.''

A spokeswoman for the Bathurst diocese would not comment, saying the Vincentian priests operated separately from the diocese.

A spokesman for the Sydney archdiocese said Cardinal George Pell would not comment because Bathurst lay outside his jurisdiction.

Chairman of the National Council of Priests of Australia, Father Ian McGinnity, said care was taken at boarding schools, but sex abuse remained in all parts of society.

''It still doesn't take away the unfortunate reality of human nature. There are people who sometimes have sicknesses in psycho-sexual arenas and that happens whether they're priests or lay people.''

The office of Vincentian priests at Bathurst and their provincial office in Sydney did not comment when contacted. AAP

(C) Church Hit By Claims Of Sex Rituals At College
 New Zealand Herald, August 28, 2008 by Greg Ansley

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10529407

[ QUOTE: One alleged victim has described bizarre rituals in which boys were taken into a room by priests chanting in tongues and either assaulted or forced to sexually abuse each other. ]

CANBERRA - Australia's oldest Catholic boarding school has been rocked by a sex scandal that has led to charges against one former priest and may spread to others.

St Stanislaus College in the New South Wales country city of Bathurst has promised full co-operation in a police investigation that so far includes allegations of abuse of 13 former students in the 1980s.

"It is imperative that the Catholic Church addresses issues of alleged sexual misconduct towards children as openly and as comprehensively as possible," principal John Edwards said.

One alleged victim has described bizarre rituals in which boys were taken into a room by priests chanting in tongues and either assaulted or forced to sexually abuse each other.

The former border, now aged 35, told Sydney's Daily Telegraph that his twice-weekly abuse had started in the 1980s when a priest had singled him out for private tutoring about God and the Catholic Church.

"They got a group of 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.

Edwards confirmed allegations of late-night sexual abuse committed during prayers and chanting, and said he had passed internet material received several years ago to the police.

Former priest Brian Joseph Spillane, 65, appeared in Bathurst Local Court in July charged with 33 offences, including sexual intercourse with boys aged 10 to 16 under his authority, six counts of sexual intercourse with students aged 11, 12 and 13, and other offences involving gross indecency.

Police are investigating the possible involvement of other teachers.

Edwards, the college's first lay head, told Fairfax radio yesterday that police had named other former staff members in a search warrant served last month.

The charges against Spillane were laid after an alleged victim went to the police in August last year, sparking the formation of Task Force Heador.

The task force has so far identified five victims, and a further eight possible victims.

Detective Superintendent Michael Goodwin urged any other victims of alleged abuse to come forward, in the strictest confidence, and said investigations did not involve present staff.

The college, founded in 1867 as the gold rush brought new waves of migrants to the region 200km west of Sydney, is run by priests and brothers of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, a charitable order honouring a 16th century French saint.

It is named after a Polish martyr executed after a dispute with his king. Charging boarders up to A$18,000 ($22,025) a year, St Stanislaus boasts a glittering alumni that includes former Wallabies, political leaders and judges.

(D) Ex-priest in Australia Faces Child Sex Charges
Associated Press, by Kristen Gelineau – Sep 2, 2008

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hsFr0n4XN-KxcInspcz4EVtXVWfwD92V2SMG0

[ QUOTE: Spillane's lawyer, Greg Walsh, said Wednesday that his client maintained his innocence and said the case had been "highly contaminated," in part because the accusers' complaints were based on repressed memories.

"They've (the memories) been concocted," Walsh said. "There's no scientific basis on recovered memories." ]

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — A former Roman Catholic priest already facing dozens of charges related to allegations of sexual abuse at an exclusive Australian boarding school has been charged with an additional 60 child sex offenses, police said Wednesday.

Police also arrested two other men Wednesday in connection with the investigation into alleged abuse in the 1980s at two religious schools.

The new charges and arrests come after Pope Benedict XVI visited Australia in July and publicly condemned sexual predators in the church, apologizing to their victims.

The 65-year-old ex-priest, identified by his attorney as Brian Spillane of Sydney, was arrested Tuesday night and charged with 60 counts relating to alleged sexual assaults against eight people, New South Wales state police said.

He was released on bail and is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 15, a police spokeswoman said on customary condition of anonymity. The spokeswoman declined to provide any additional information, including details of the allegations or the specific charges.

Spillane was originally charged in May with 33 child sex offenses against five people as a result of a police investigation into allegations of abuse in the 1980s at St. Stanislaus in the city of Bathurst, 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of Sydney. Spillane worked at the school on and off between the 1970s and early 1990s.

Police on Wednesday also arrested a 66-year-old Catholic brother in connection with their probe into St. Stanislaus and a 63-year-old former teacher of another religious school in Bathurst that is also under investigation.

The Catholic brother was arrested in Sydney and charged with 28 sexual offenses dating back to the 1970s and '80s. He was released on bail and ordered to appear in court Sept. 15. Police did not name the man or say whether he taught at St. Stanislaus. Many members of Catholic orders teach in religious schools.

The other suspect arrested Wednesday, a former teacher who lives on Russell Island in Queensland state, was charged with three counts of indecent assault relating to alleged offenses at the Anglican All Saints College in Bathurst in 1973. He was released on bail and ordered to appear in court Nov. 17.

Police did not release either man's name or details about the allegations against them.

Police Superintendent Michael Goodwin said that since the original allegations became public, additional people have come forward claiming to have been abused at the schools.

"Police are currently working through a significant amount of information in relation to these sexual assault matters most of which date back to the 1970s and 80s," Goodwin said in a statement.

"As a result of information from the public, (the police probe) has been expanded to investigate any instances of sexual abuse relating to any former student of any school in the Bathurst area," he said. "Inquiries are continuing, and I cannot rule out further arrests at this stage."

Spillane's lawyer, Greg Walsh, said Wednesday that his client maintained his innocence and said the case had been "highly contaminated," in part because the accusers' complaints were based on repressed memories.

"They've (the memories) been concocted," Walsh said. "There's no scientific basis on recovered memories."

Walsh declined to elaborate or say whether police or psychologists worked with the accusers to draw out the memories of alleged abuse.

"I can't go into details," he said, adding only that there were "a number of bizarre aspects" to the case.

John Edwards, principal of St. Stanislaus, said the school first learned of the allegations against the former priest five or six years ago, after a link to a Web site containing graphic descriptions of sex acts that had allegedly taken place at the school was sent to several staff members. Officials at the school forwarded the information to police, Edwards said.

"We never heard anything further of it," Edwards said.

On July 3, the school was served with a search warrant listing the names of three former staff members, including Spillane, Edwards said. But police would not tell Edwards whether the other two former staff members were also accused of molesting students, or whether they were simply potential witnesses.