Spectre of Evil Haunted Her to the End, by Kim Wilson, The Herald Sun, January 13, 2008

Spectre of Evil Haunted Her to the End

By Kim Wilson
The Herald Sun
January 13, 2008

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23043949-661,00.html

A FAMILY's brave battle to save a child sexually abused by a priest ended tragically last week with the death of the Melbourne woman.

Emma Foster, 26, died alone on her bedroom floor clutching her teddy bear, a treasured first birthday present from her parents.

It was a tragic end to a life shattered by abuse by the the family's parish priest.

For 13 years, Emma's parents, Anthony and Christine, battled to keep their eldest daughter alive as she rode a roller-coaster of drugs and self-destructive behaviour.

Last Sunday, they were told Emma had died of a suspected drug overdose.

"Over the past days we have experienced grief like we could never possibly have imagined or predicted," Mr Foster said.

Emma Foster, 26, dies of a suspected drug overdose after being abused by Catholic priest Father John O'Donnell.

Emma and younger sister Katie were victims of Father Kevin O'Donnell as students at Sacred Heart Primary School, Oakleigh, from 1988 to 1993.

O'Donnell served 15 months' jail after pleading guilty to indecently assaulting 11 boys and one girl, aged eight to 14, between 1946 and 1977. He died after his release in 1997.

Katie, 22, turned to alcohol to dull memories of her abuse and was hit by a drunk driver in 1999, leaving her with intellectual and physical disabilities.

O'Donnell was not charged with offences against Emma and Katie but the Catholic Church paid the family a confidential six-figure settlement.

"He could walk in there any time, any class, any day and take whatever child he liked . . . to a secluded spot," Mrs Foster said.

"I felt so stupid that I thought these men were next to God and he's been having sex with kids for 50 years."

Emma's parents found out when she was 12.

"It seemed when she read about his offences in the local paper of March, 1995 it hit her that that is what happened to her and she became anorexic and went into an adolescent psych unit in September of that year," Mrs Foster said.

Mr Foster said his daughter was a caring and vibrant person.

"It was just overshadowed by what happened to her and it was too heavy for her to bear," he said.

Emma tried heroin at 17 and went on to use several illicit and prescription drugs.

"It made her forget things, took the pain away," Mr Foster said.

Mr Foster said the family was "going to suffer a lot of pain, but we're not going to let him take away our life or our good memories of Emma".

Emma's funeral will be on Tuesday at Boyd Chapel, Springvale Botanical Cemetery, at 10.30am. Instead of flowers, the family has asked for donations to Advocates for Survivors of Child Abuse.