By Evan Schuurman
The Courier
August 8, 2011
http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/news/general/he-has-stolen-my-spirit-my-soul-victim-of-robert-best/2252322.aspx
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| Trauma: “PL” was abused by Best when he was nine, and still suffers the effects. Picture: Jeremy Bannister |
ONE of the victims of paedophile Christian Brother Robert Best has told of repeated beatings and physical abuse by other members of the order after he was raped by his school principal.
“PL”, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was nine when Best took advantage of him during a lunch break when he was a grade 3 pupil at St Alipius Christian Brothers School in Ballarat. He has suffered ever since.
PL said that when he told his teacher, another Brother, what had happened, he was taken into a small room and beaten. “He belted the (expletive) out of me,” PL said.
When his teacher again asked what happened, the nine-year-old said what had occurred and was again beaten.
The third time the teacher asked, the boy said nothing, and was immediately allowed back into class.
“(Best) has stolen my spirit, my soul. It was like I died that day,” PL said yesterday, fighting back tears. “I was never that happy boy again.”
Now 51, PL still has trouble sleeping and says he sees Best abusing him in his nightmares.
“The biggest thing I would love is to sleep again. I just cannot get him out of my head.”
PL started drinking, smoking and taking drugs and said he became suicidal in his late teenage years. He said he had trouble forming relationships with girls because his confidence was destroyed.
“It’s so degrading. You feel dirty all the time,” he said. “It didn’t matter how many times I showered, I still felt dirty.”
But yesterday’s sentencing, putting Best behind bars for at least the next 11 years, has helped to alleviate some of the damage.
“In a way I’m happier and relieved,” he said. “It’s taken 11 years to get this far ... and now I just want to get on with my life and enjoy what’s left of it.”
Following the heated sentencing yesterday morning, a number of victims also called for a public enquiry into sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
One said an enquiry would be a “really healthy thing” for the people of Victoria, and that it was important any investigation look at the church’s reporting mechanisms in regard to sex offenders.
ONE of the victims of paedophile Christian Brother Robert Best has told of repeated beatings and physical abuse by other members of the order after he was raped by his school principal.
“PL”, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was nine when Best took advantage of him during a lunch break when he was a grade 3 pupil at St Alipius Christian Brothers School in Ballarat. He has suffered ever since.
PL said that when he told his teacher, another Brother, what had happened, he was taken into a small room and beaten. “He belted the (expletive) out of me,” PL said.
When his teacher again asked what happened, the nine-year-old said what had occurred and was again beaten.
The third time the teacher asked, the boy said nothing, and was immediately allowed back into class.
“(Best) has stolen my spirit, my soul. It was like I died that day,” PL said yesterday, fighting back tears. “I was never that happy boy again.”
Now 51, PL still has trouble sleeping and says he sees Best abusing him in his nightmares.
“The biggest thing I would love is to sleep again. I just cannot get him out of my head.”
PL started drinking, smoking and taking drugs and said he became suicidal in his late teenage years. He said he had trouble forming relationships with girls because his confidence was destroyed.
“It’s so degrading. You feel dirty all the time,” he said. “It didn’t matter how many times I showered, I still felt dirty.”
But yesterday’s sentencing, putting Best behind bars for at least the next 11 years, has helped to alleviate some of the damage.
“In a way I’m happier and relieved,” he said. “It’s taken 11 years to get this far ... and now I just want to get on with my life and enjoy what’s left of it.”
Following the heated sentencing yesterday morning, a number of victims also called for a public enquiry into sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
One said an enquiry would be a “really healthy thing” for the people of Victoria, and that it was important any investigation look at the church’s reporting mechanisms in regard to sex offenders.
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