'I didn’t know paedophilia was a crime':...

By Freya Noble
Daily Mail (UK)
June 17, 2014

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2659919/Church-leader-deputy-school-principal-told-hearing-child-sex-abuse-didnt-know-paedophilia-crime-despite-warned-predatory-teacher.html

Brother Anthony Hunt has told a royal commission that during the 1980s he was not aware that child sex abuse was a crime

Brother Hunt said he left complaints about Gregory Sutton, now a convicted paedophile, for the school to deal with

Former Australian swimming coaches Scott Volkers (pictured) and Terry Buck both had child sexual abuse claims made against them

Samantha Riley (left) and Susie O’Neill (right) were both coached by Mr Volkers, who was charged in 2002 with indecent dealings with three teenage girls in the 1980s

'I didn’t know paedophilia was a crime': What church leader and former deputy school principal told hearing into child sex abuse despite being warned about predatory teacher

The former superior of a NSW Marist Brothers community and deputy principal of a school for 600 students has told an inquiry he did not associate child sexual abuse with crime in the 1980s.

Brother Anthony Hunt was head of the Lismore Marist community to which Gregory Sutton - who was later jailed for sexually assaulting 15 children - was attached from 1985 to 1987.

Brother Hunt was also deputy principal of the Marist Trinity College in Lismore which had 600 students at the time.

On Tuesday he gave evidence at the royal commission into child sexual abuse that although concerns were raised with him about the behaviour of Sutton at St Carthage's primary school, he left it to the school to deal with it.

Towards the end of two-and-a-half hours of evidence he said he considered complaints of inappropriate behaviour by Sutton as 'excessive expressions of affection' and had not heard the word pedophile at the time.

'When you give that answer, that as the deputy principal of that Catholic college in the mid-to-late 80s in this nation, you did not understand that the sexual assault of children was a crime?' Presiding Commissioner Justice Jennifer Coate asked.

Brother Hunt responded 'I would have to say that's correct at the time.'

Justice Coate asked him if he accepted that part of his role was to protect children.

'What is the difficulty that you have with accepting that it was a crime,' Justice Coate asked.

Justice Coate asked him if he had seen media reports at the time about people charged with sexual offences against children.

'I don't specifically remember, but I can't rule it out,' Brother Hunt said.

Justice Coate asked 'Is that a serious answer to the Royal Commission, Brother?', To which Brother Hunt replied it was the best he could do with his understanding at the time.

He said at the time he saw it as his duty to pass on concerns about brothers to the provincial and deputy provincial of the order who headed the community in Australia.

Brother Hunt said his awareness grew in time and in retrospect he was sorry for the 'great harm that was done to children'.

Meantime, Swimming Australia's response to child sexual abuse allegations made against two high profile coaches is to come under the spotlight at a royal commission next month.

The commission will examine Swimming Australia's reaction to claims made against Olympic coaches Scott Volkers and Terry Buck.

Mr Volkers, the former coach of Samantha Riley and Susie O'Neill, was charged in early 2002 with the indecent dealing of three teenage girls he coached in the mid-1980s.

Those charges were dropped six months later.

Sexual abuse allegations surfaced against Mr Buck in 2009, four years after his death.

Former Olympian Greg Rogers claimed he and his brother were abused by Mr Buck as swimmers in the 1960s. His widow denied all the allegations.

Mr Buck represented Australia at the Olympics as a swimmer at the 1964 Tokyo Games, head swimming coach at the 1984 Games and as swimming team manager in Barcelona and Atlanta.

The commission will also look at the response of the Scone Swimming Club to the convictions of Stephen John Roser for indecent assault and for committing acts of indecency against a child.

A public hearing is set to start on July 7 in Sydney as part of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse.