AUSTRALIA
SBS
Source: AAP
21 NOV 2014
A love letter written by a man claiming to be a victim of child sexual abuse to his alleged abuser made it difficult to later verify if the crime had taken place, a royal commission has been told.
John Bednall was principal at The Hutchins School in Hobart for nine years from 1987.
During his leadership the school received a complaint from a man, known only as AOA for legal reasons, claiming to have been sexually abused while a student in 1964 by then headmaster, David Ralph Lawrence.
AOA sought acknowledgment that the abuse occurred and an apology from the school.
Charged by the Hutchins board with examining the veracity of AOA’s claim, Dr Bednall was unable to reach a conclusion in what he titled a complex affair.
He denies he was trying to cover up the report to protect the school’s reputation or its exposure to litigation, and instead says there was a lack of information allowing him to make a finding.
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