Dog May Have Been Part of Paedophile Plan

Sky News
June 13, 2014

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2014/06/13/dog-may-have-been-part-of-paedophile-plan.html

A labrador named Jason was part of a Marist brother's plan to groom young boys, a royal commission has been told.

Former brother John Chute, also known as Brother Kostka, worked at Canberra's Marist College between 1976 and 1990 and had the dog for some of that time, 1980s principal Terence Heinrich said.

'Brother Kostka wasn't the only brother who ever had a dog but certainly it was most unusual,' Br Heinrich told a royal commission investigating institutional responses to child sexual abuse.

Lawyer Peter O'Brien, representing an abuse victim from the college, suggested the dog was used by Chute as part of 'his pedophilic behaviour'.

'It seems from what you recall that children were attracted to the dog,' Mr O'Brien said to Heinrich.

The former headmaster admitted boys liked the dog but rejected the 'notion' Chute used it as a tool.

It is alleged that Chute abused 39 boys during his time at Marist College.

He also worked at schools throughout NSW and Queensland, from where additional sexual abuse accusations have stemmed.

In 2008, Chute was convicted and jailed for some of the offences and has since been released.

The commission, which is sitting in Canberra, is investigating whether accusations against Chute and fellow brother Gregory Sutton - who has also been convicted and jailed for child sexual abuse - were handled adequately.