NEWS.com.au
August 27, 2008
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24251548-421,00.html
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.
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| School of shame ... students at St Stanislaus College in New South Wales where there are abuse allegations Photo by Stephen Power. |
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.
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