The Salvation Army has sacked an officer ...

By Janet Dife-Yeomans
Daily Telegraph
June 23, 2014

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/the-salvation-army-has-sacked-an-officer-accused-of-child-abuse-just-months-after-publicly-rewarding-him/story-fni0cx12-1226963736958

Major Colin Haggar from the Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army has sacked an officer accused of child abuse just months after publicly rewarding him

THE Salvation Army has sacked an officer accused at the royal commission of child abuse — six months after giving him a silver award.

Major John McIver was dismissed last week and the allegations against him including sexually assaulting a boy have been referred to the police, the inquiry into institutional responses to child sex abuse has been told today.

The commission had heard shocking allegations from boys at two homes including that Mr McIver had whipped one boy’s genitals, burned another boy on the leg with a cigarette and dislocated another boy’s shoulder.

He had worked at the Bexley Boys Home in Sydney’s south from 1968 until he moved to become manager of the Akira Salvation Army home for boys at Indooroopilly in Brisbane in 1974. He left there in 1976.

The Salvos’ counsel, Kate Eastmen, has told the commission that the Army had recently begun its own investigation into the claims.

“The Salvation Army does not challenge the survivors’ claims about Mr McIver’s conduct towards them,” Ms Eastman said.

“Mr McIver denied the allegations but nevertheless the matter has been taken to the Officers Review Board and I may inform the royal commission that Mr McIver was dismissed as an officer on June 19 this year.

“The allegations concerning him have also been referred to the police.”

The Salvation Army has also dismissed another officer, Colin Haggar, who had admitted sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl.

The Salvation Army was accused by victims of Mr McIver of being insensitive by giving him a silver award in December last year and then featuring him and his wife Hazel in the Salvos magazine in January, as the commission began its hearing into abuse within the army’s homes.

The awards were given in recognition that the couple’s two sons had become commissioned officers.

Ms Eastman was making final submissions in the commission’s two investigations into the Salvation Army.

She said that it was not open to the commission to make a “finding of widespread sexual abuse perpetrated by many officers and employees.”

The commission sitting in Sydney begins a fresh hearing tomorrow.