AUSTRALIA
The Canberra Times
Royal commission told lawyer tried to silence ‘regrettably upfront’ sex offender Kostka Chute
June 19, 2014
David Ellery
Reporter for The Canberra Times.
A lawyer acting for the Marist Brothers visited serial paedophile Kostka Chute in jail in a bid to prevent him from making disclosures that would endanger the order’s insurance cover, it was alleged at the sex abuse royal commission.
Peter O’Brien, who is representing victim and whistleblower Damian De Marco, put it to the former head of the order, Brother Alexis Turton, on Thursday that significant steps had been taken to ensure Catholic Church Insurance (CCI) would not withdraw its cover of crimes committed by Chute.
The Marist Brothers, through its insurers, has paid out $6.84 million to 38 of Chute’s victims.
Brother Alexis had been the order’s professional standards officer at the time of Chute’s Canberra trial and the class action that followed.
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