Wollongong Mp Speaks of Sadness As Edmund Rice College Apologises over Historical Abuse of Student

By Nick McLaren
ABC News
June 16, 2016

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-16/mp-opens-up-on-child-sex-abuse/7515624

An Illawarra MP has spoken of his sadness after his former school admitted it had let one of its students down by failing to protect him from a paedophile Christian Brother.

Stephen Jones is the Federal Member for Whitlam and a former school captain and dux at Edmund Rice College in West Wollongong.

The conviction, and likely jail sentence, of a former Christian Brother has prompted the catholic MP to reflect on his own personal experience at the school.

John Vincent Roberts, aged 73, yesterday pleaded guilty to 11 of 21 charges relating to the historical sex abuse of a 12-year-old boy at the school.

Police only became aware of the abuse as a result of hearings before the royal commission into child sexual abuse last year.

The Oceania Province of the Christian Brothers released a statement expressing profound sorrow and an unreserved apology for the crimes.

"A child in our care had the right to expect every protection for this person and they were tragically let down," the statement said.

The conviction and apology has prompted Mr Jones reflect in a general way about his own experience at the school.

Mr Jones said the students "knew what was going on" and his father later apologised for sending him to the school.

"One of the saddest conversations I had with my father was when this originally broke over a decade ago [and] him sitting down with me and feeling like he'd let us down," Mr Jones said.

"He felt he had sent me and my brothers to this school because he was doing the right thing by us.

"And one of the saddest things he said to me is that if we had come to him at that point in time and told him what was going on, he probably wouldn't have believed it," he said.

"Because it was so out of his experience, so out of his world view, that he couldn't have come to terms with the stuff that was going on."

Mr Jones said it caused his father to change his attitude to his faith.

Former students form the school, including Mr Jones, received a letter from the school on Wednesday night offering to assistance to sexual assault survivors.