By George Conger
Religious Intelligence
August 30, 2007
http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=956
Sexual abuse charges levelled against a former Church of England school chaplain, the Rev John Mountford, have been dropped by South Australia prosecutors following the withdrawal of the complaint by the alleged victim.
The Mountford affair led to the forced resignation of Adelaide's Archbishop Ian George on June 11, 2004, following the publication of an independent report into the diocese's handling of the clergy sexual abuse complaints.
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Mountford fled to Thailand in 1992 after he was confronted with allegations that he molested a 14-year-old student at St Peter's College, Adelaide: a prestigious Anglican boy's boarding school. He was arrested by Thai police in 2004 and extradited to Australia a year later to stand trial.
Dr George denied accusations that he protected Mountford or ignored claims of child abuse. However, letters leaked to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation showed that in 1993, Dr George had written to Mountford saying he was "glad that you were not subjected to the pain, the humiliation and the public spectacle which the media would have relished in your case."
It was likely that Mountford would be "charged with an offence" had he remained in Adelaide, Dr George wrote, adding "You will see that I have done everything I can both to support you, and preserve your reputation." Mountford, who served as chaplain at the Blue Coat School in Edgbaston, Birmingham, between 1987 and 1990, moved to Australia and served as a chaplain at St Peter's College from 1991-1992.
In 2003 the diocese created a commission of inquiry chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge Trevor Olsson and Dr Donna Chung of the University of South Australia. The final report was passed to the government and was tabled in the South Australia parliament on May 31, 2004.
South Australia Premier Mike Rann said the failure to deal appropriately with an incident of sexual abuse by the chaplain deserved both condemnation and further scrutiny "not just in terms of its values but in terms of the law of this state". The Olsson-Chung report made "very disturbing reading", Rann said, and revealed "a failure over decades on the part of the church as an institution and by some individuals within the church to put the interests of victims ahead of the perceived interests of the Anglican Church".
The Adelaide Advertiser reported that the alleged victim, now in his late 20s last week declined to proceed with the case, which was to go to trial next month. Mountford has threatened to sue the South Australia government over his extradition from Thailand and Premier Mike Rann for slander. Following his extradition to Adelaide, Rann told the press Mountford's actions "sickened me".
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