A Catholic Brother Is Charged in Victoria and Is Investigated in Nsw

Broken Rites
January 16, 2015

http://brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/308

Many years ago, Broken Rites began researching "Brother Gabriel Mount", who had worked in Catholic children's homes conducted by the St John of God Brothers in New South Wales and Victoria. We discovered that he eventually became a priest ("Father Roger Mount"), working in Papua New Guinea. In October 2014 he was brought back to Australia, where Victorian police charged him with multiple child-sex offences, involving seven Victorian victims. He is in custody in Victoria, where he has made two brief appearances in court (by video link from prison), the most recent being on 16 January 2015. New South Wales police, also, are investigating Father Mount concerning incidents that are alleged to have occurred in NSW.

Broken Rites research ascertained that, early in his church career (in the 1960s and 1970s), Roger Mount was listed in the annual editions of the Australian Catholic Directory as Brother "Gabriel" Mount, a member of a Catholic religious order called the St John of God Brothers. (When men joined this religious order, they normally adopted an ancient "saintly" name - hence Brother "Gabriel".)

Later, Brother "Gabriel" Mount transferred to Papua New Guinea, where he left the St John of God order and became a diocesan priest. He reverted to his birth name, becoming Father Roger Mount, and was attached to the Diocese of Port Moresby. He reached a senior rank in this diocese. His most recent parish, Sogeri, is on the southern end of PNG's famous Kokoda Track.

In October 2014, Father Roger Melville Mount (now aged 72) was deported from Papua New Guinea to Australia. On arrival in Cairns (Queensland), he was arrested by police, who then obtained a court order for Mount to be extradited to Victoria. He was taken to Victoria by detectives from the Sano Taskforce in the Victoria Police sex crime squad. This taskforce was established to investigate allegations regarding religious organisations.

The Victoria Police were investigating certain incidents that allegedly occurred between 1968 and 1974 while Brother "Gabriel" Mount was working with the St John of God Brothers at Greensborough (in Melbourne's north-east).

At Greensborough, the St John of God Brothers ran a home called "Churinga", for disadvantaged and vulnerable boys.

Broken Rites research found that, in the 1971 edition of the Australian Catholic Directory, Brother Gabriel Mount was listed as the Prior (i.e., the superior) at "Churinga", where there were also five other Brothers.

First court appearance

On 20 October 2014, Roger Melville Mount appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court. He was charged with 62 offences, comprising 40 counts of indecent assault, 14 counts of buggery, five counts of gross indecency and three counts of unlawful assault - allegedly committed between 1968 and 1974 against seven victims in the Melbourne region.

Mount did not apply for bail. He was therefore remanded in custody pending his next court appearance.

Second court appearance

On 16 January 2015, Father Roger 'Gabriel' Mount appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court via videolink from Port Phillip prison.

The prosecutor told the court that a four-day committal hearing (by a magistrate) is scheduled to begin on 16 March 2015.

The prosecutor said that one of the alleged victims had a cognitive impairment while the others might have some form of mild disability.

The alleged victims would give evidence via a remote facility organised by the Office of Public Prosecutions witness assistance service and would not be in the same courtroom as Father Mount.

The magistrate remanded Father Mount in custody to appear on 16 March 2015. She ordered that any prosecution or defence application in relation to certain evidence by filed by 6 February 2015.

New South Wales

The Victorian court proceedings are confined to incidents that allegedly occurred within Victoria. Brother "Gabriel" Mount also worked at another St John of God boys' home, called "Kendall Grange", situated at Morisset (between Sydney and Newcastle). The Lake Macquarie Detectives Office (in the NSW Police) is gathering information about certain alleged incidents at the Morriset institution.