Catholic Education Office Chief’s Sorrow over Abuse at St Ann’s Special School

By Sally Brooks
Herald Sun
March 21, 2014

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/catholic-education-office-chiefs-sorrow-over-abuse-at-st-anns-special-school/story-fnii5yv7-1226860707366

Former director of Catholic Education Office (Adelaide) Allan Dooley. Picture: Greg Higgs Source: News Corp Australia

THE sexual abuse of intellectually disabled students was “shocking and appalling” and the handling of the case in 1991 was “unacceptable”, says the former director of the Catholic Education Office.

Allan Dooley also apologised to victims of paedophile Brian Perkins, who worked at St Ann’s Special School in Marion more than two decades ago.

“For the former students and families affected, I am deeply sorry that the abuse at St Ann’s ever occurred,” he said.

“In everything I did I tried to engage and work in an open and transparent way with all the different people and organisations that were involved in the Church’s response.’’

The apology followed a detailed statement from Mr Dooley to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which is examining the claims of sex abuse at St Ann’s.

Mr Dooley outlined his efforts to investigate Perkins involvement at the school, when he first became aware of the claims in 2001 after being contacted by a concerned parent.

As part of this investigation, Mr Dooley told the inquiry he interviewed the school principal at the time, Claude Hamam, several times.

Mr Dooley said Mr Hamam originally told him he had done a police check on Perkins prior to offering Perkins employment at the school as a bus driver.

At a later interview, Mr Hamam then told Mr Dooley he had not done a police check.

“This was contrary to what he had previously said,” he told the Commission.

“I also made recommendations for the suspension and dismissal of Hamam from employment, based on my view … that Hamam was not a fit and proper person to be employed in Catholic education in South Australia.”

Counsel Assisting the Commission Sophie David then questioned Mr Dooley about whether the Archbishop at the time, Archbishop Leonard Faulkner, was aware of allegations in 1991 of sexual abuse by Perkins of at least one student at the school.

The Commission was shown a statement from Archbishop Faulkner saying he first became aware of the allegations against Perkins in 1993.

Mr Dooley said he doesn’t know if Archbishop was aware of the allegations in 1991, but he didn’t remember seeing any information about Perkins when he started with Catholic Education a few years later, in 1994.

Mr Dooley told the Commission if he had been made aware of the allegations in 1994, he would have pursued the same investigation that he did when he first became aware of the abuse allegations in 2001.

The hearing continues on Friday with the former principal expected to give evidence.