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	Marist Scandal: More Accused By Kate Hannon Canberra Times July 25, 2007 http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=general&story_id=1026515&category=general Australia — Two more former teachers at Marist College Canberra have been implicated in the widening scandal over the alleged sexual abuse of students. One, a lay teacher, and the other, a Marist brother, have been accused by former students who have flooded a Canberra law firm with complaints since the weekend. Neither former teacher has been named but the complaints are in response to a report in The Canberra Times on Saturday in which two former Marist College students expressed concern that former teacher Paul John Lyons could have sexually abused students at the school. Lyons taught at Marist College Canberra in Pearce between 1975 and 1987. The former science teacher is the subject of six law suits by former students at Daramalan College in Dickson where he taught for 12 years until he committed suicide in 2000 after being charged with the 1989 indecent assault of a 15-year-old Daramalan student. Two of the law suits have been settled for undisclosed amounts while three others are being mediated and a sixth is still in preparation. Daramalan College is a co-educational Catholic school run by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. A partner in the firm Porters Lawyers, Jason Parkinson, said he had received a large number of complaints about former teachers at Marist College since the weekend. "I've been inundated with complaints from former students alleging abuse by Paul Lyons, another lay teacher and former brothers who formerly taught at the school," Mr Parkinson said. Until last weekend the firm had received three complaints from former Marist students about Lyons while the bulk had come from former Daramalan College students. Two former Marist students who had attended the school in the 1980s said they were aware of concerns about Lyons but also raised concerns about an unnamed Marist brother who caned students and allegedly sexually assaulted a 12-year-old Year 7 student. While Mr Parkinson would not name the former teachers, he said there were complaints about more than one former Marist brother, all of whom were teachers at the school in the late 1970s and 1980s. It is not known whether one of those Marist brothers is a former teacher who admitted in 1996 to two acts of indecency against a 14-year-old Marist College Canberra student. According to websites which list recorded offences by members of the clergy, the incidents occurred in 1979 at Carinya Holiday Centre, Jindabyne, and at a Marist Brothers' residence at Wategoes Beach, Byron Bay, in 1979. The auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn, Bishop Pat Power, acknowledged yesterday it was difficult for former students to come forward but he again encouraged them to contact the Catholic Church helpline, the schools or lawyers. While he did not comment directly on the latest claims, he said it appeared the law firm was engaging in "a bit of a fishing expedition". However, he acknowledge that the Church could have acted sooner when issues of alleged abuse had surfaced in the past. "I think there are times when the Catholic Church has been too slow to respond at times," Bishop Power said. At the weekend, the principal of Marist College, Richard Sidorko, called for former students who have complaints to contact the school or the Church's helpline on 1300369977.
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