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	World Youth Day Link to School Sex Charges By Jonathan Dart, Dylan Welch and Linda Morris Sydney Morning Herald September 4, 2008 http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/world-youth-day-link-to-school-sex-charges/2008/09/03/1220121331142.html A CATHOLIC brother charged over 28 alleged sexual offences when he taught at St Stanislaus' College in Bathurst during the 1970s and 1980s returned to his former school earlier this year as a World Youth Day chaperone. John Gaven, 66, was one of three men arrested yesterday as police acted on allegations provided by a number of former students who have come forward since a former school chaplain, Brian Spillane, faced court last month. The other two arrested yesterday included a 63-year-old man in Queensland who was charged with three counts of indecent assault allegedly committed while he was a lay teacher at an Anglican college in Bathurst, All Saints. A 65-year-old priest was taken to Armidale police station and charged with four offences, allegedly committed at St Stanislaus'. In July, Gaven was one of six organisers for a Vincentian Fathers' trip to Bathurst with 300 young pilgrims - mainly from the South Pacific - who spent four nights at St Stanislaus' as part of the Days in the Diocese event. An organiser for the event, Lisa Bright, refused to say what role Gaven had played. "I'm not able to comment on that, it's not my position to talk about it," she said. A World Youth Day spokesman said the Bathurst excursion was not a part of the official events and as such Gaven would not have needed to apply directly for accreditation, which required police checks. Police have formed Strike Force Belle to investigate complaints made against religious and lay teachers, which have emerged since the publicity generated from Spillane's court appearance last month. So far police have laid 128 charges against the four men, and are working with 14 alleged victims, who are all male. The task force commander, Superintendent Michael Goodwin, confirmed police were talking with other alleged victims, including a female, some of them interstate, and did not rule out further charges. "The original piece of information has generated the interest from the other people who have come forward," Superintendent Goodwin said. Gaven was arrested at his residence in the Vincentian Fathers' complex in Marsfield yesterday and taken to Ryde police station. Officers searched the property - located a few hundred metres from a local primary school - and seized a number of boxes filled with personal items. Originally from the Gold Coast, Gaven joined the Vincentians at the age of 18 and later transferred to St Stanislaus' College in the mid-1970s, where he served as a groundsman and later as a supervisor in the boarding dormitories. The St Stanislaus' headmaster, John Edwards, said that Gaven was renowned for the energy he put into extra-curricular activities such as rugby, serving as a referee. The Vincentian Fathers did not return the Herald's calls yesterday.
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