Salvation Army Sack Accused Sex Abusers John Mciver and Colin Haggar

By Janet Fife-Yeomans
Daily Telegraph
June 24, 2014

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/salvation-army-sack-accused-sex-abusers-john-mciver-and-colin-haggar/story-fni0cx12-1226964347532?nk=9bd9d0e669a011da00cfb4b48d60c50f

THE Salvation Army has sacked an officer accused of being a notorious child abuser — six months after giving him a silver star award.

Major John McIver was dismissed last week and allegations against him, including raping a boy, have been referred to the police, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse was told yesterday.

SA chief of personnel Major Peter Farthing / Picture: Renee Nowytarger

Major Colin Haggar from the Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army has also sacked a second officer, Lieutenant Colonel Colin Haggar, 25 years after he admitted sexually assaulting a girl aged eight. Mr Haggar was sacked after the incident but reinstated in 1993 with former Salvos chief of personnel Major Peter Farthing stating in the commission as late as April this year that sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl did not make Mr Haggar a paedophile. There have been 19 Salvation Army officers named as perpetrators of abuse, counsel Kate Eastman told the commission in final submissions.

Mr McIver, who has denied all claims, was not suspended until January when the commission began hearing evidence he had sexually and physically abused boys from 1974 at the Akira Salvation Army home for boys at Indooroopilly in Brisbane.

The commission heard allegations from boys that Mr McIver had whipped one boy’s genitals and burned another boy on the leg with a cigarette.

In The Daily Telegraph last Saturday, it was stated that Commissioner James Condon has officiated at the Haggar wedding and therefore had a conflict of interest. This was attributed to statements made by Captain Michelle White. Captain White has withdrawn her claim that the commissioner, commander of the army’s eastern territory, had officiated at the wedding of Mr Haggar to his wife Kerry. She has apologised and said the commissioner had told her he had attended the wedding and provided premarital counselling.