Former WA Catholic college student 'too embarrassed' to report sexual abuse

By Joanna Menagh
ABC News
February 9, 2016

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-09/ex-student-testifies-against-catholic-bishop-max-davis/7153570

Max Davis in on trial in the District Court in Perth

A former student at a Catholic college in Western Australia has told a Perth court he never spoke to anyone after he was sexually abused 45 years ago because he was "too embarrassed".

The man was giving evidence in the District Court at the trial of Catholic Bishop Max Davis, who is accused of sexually abusing five boarders at Saint Benedict's College in New Norica between 1969 and 1972.

Davis was a teacher and a boarding master at the school and in 1971 was ordained a priest.

Most recently he was the Catholic Bishop of the Australian Defence Force but he stood aside from his duties when he was charged two years ago.

Today the former student testified he was sexually abused while he was being examined in the first aid room because he had injured his groin playing football.

He said the abuse was by "Brother Max" who was a dormitory master at the college.

The man testified he did not say anything at the time, because he was scared and shocked and afterwards he avoided Davis where he could.

Earlier another man testified he was abused when he "took a sickie" and stayed in his bed in the dormitory.

He said he was about 13 or 14 at the time and when Davis started touching him he thought it was part of a medical examination.

He said the touching stopped suddenly, he thought, because the bell for morning tea rang.

The man also said he did not speak to anyone about what happened, and he told the court that after that day, he did not take any more "sickies".

Davis denies the allegations against him.

In an opening address at the start of the trial, his lawyer Seamus Rafferty said there was "no dispute" the complainants were sexually abused, but Davis denied he was responsible.

Mr Rafferty said there were two other members of the clergy at the college who could have been responsible for the abuse, including a priest who was removed after Davis told the college's abbot he had been acting inappropriately towards other students.

Mr Rafferty said the complainants were "simply wrong".

"It had to be one of the other two," he said.

On Tuesday afternoon a third witness testified about what he called "the very harsh" punishment regime at Saint Benedict's.

Giving evidence via video link from the United Kingdom, the man, who is now in his 50s, said the cane and the strap were given "for the most minor misdemeanours."

He said he remembered at his first assembly, Davis "holding aloft a handful of canes" and telling students they were wrong if they thought the punishment would stop when the canes were "exhausted" because he had another supply coming from Perth.

The witness testified he was sexually abused when he was about 13, after he went to Davis to say he did not understand a "one-off" sex education class he had given students.

"It was a horrible experience. What happened in that room is clearly etched on my mind," he said.

Under cross examination from Davis's lawyer, the man rejected suggestions he was mistaken about who abused him telling the court, "It was Max Davis. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind."

However he conceded some details he had given in his evidence were not included in a police statement he had signed earlier, and the first mention of those matters was in an email he sent to the prosecutor on Tuesday morning after reading a news report about the trial.

The trial is expected to run into next week and the court has been told Mr Davis will testify.