Salvation Army Officers Allegedly Moved Interstate If Accused of Child Sex Abuse
By Thomas Oriti
An inquiry into Salvation Army boys homes has been told officers were quickly moved to other states if they were accused of child sexual abuse. The Alkira Salvation Army Home for Boys at Indooroopilly in Queensland is one of four homes being examined by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Marina Randall and her husband Cliff worked as "house parents" in the home between 1973 and 1975. Major Randall has recalled arriving at her accommodation in 1973. "It just looked as if it had been left in a hurry. Things weren't the way you might normally expect if it had been a relaxed leaving," she said. It was previously the home of Major Donald Schultz, who is accused of sexually abusing boys. The hearing has been told he was quickly transferred to New South Wales when the boys came forward. Mr Shultz is alive and his wife, who holds a power of attorney for him, has been provided notice of the hearing. He was dismissed from the Salvation Army in 2005 and is now in a nursing home with dementia. Boys allegedly flown interstate for sex Lawyers have asked for more information about reports that boys were flown between New South Wales and Queensland for sexual exploitation. Cliff Randall has told the hearing he was approached by a boy in 1975, who reported being flown from Brisbane to Sydney. His fare was allegedly paid by a man described as a millionaire hardware store owner. Major Randall says he was told the boy was sexually abused by a Sydney chef, before being forced to hitchhike home. The boy told Major Randall he was abused by a truck driver on the journey. Cliff Randall says another boy known as HT never returned to Alkira, prompting him to raise concerns with a policeman who said the boy was "probably at the bottom of the harbour". "It was one of those sort of throw-away lines," Major Randall told the hearing. "It startled me at first to think that this poor kid could have been killed because of what he got involved in." Counsel representing the State of Queensland, David Kent QC, has asked for further information about Cliff Randall's contact with police. "Did it seem to you to be a dismissive comment or perhaps a genuine concern by the police officer?" he asked. Cliff Randall agreed it was dismissive. He has described the policeman as being a uniformed officer working at the local Indooroopilly police station. Counsel Representing the Salvation Army, Trish McDonald SC, has also questioned Mr Randall about the reports from the boy. Referring to the boy's reported absence between March and June 1975, Ms McDonald asked whether "the police believed he was still there, and his fare to Sydney was provided by some male prostitute with whom it is believed he is still associating". "That's possible, yes," Cliff Randall responded. The inquiry was previously told that boys at the Bexley Boys Home in Sydney were "rented out" for sex as part of a paedophile network allegedly involving Salvation Army Captain Lawrence Wilson, but the two cases have not been linked. Wilson died in 2008. Whistleblowers dismissed from Alkira boys home The Randall's were later dismissed from the home in 1975 after they accused another Salvation Army officer, Captain John McIver, of abuse. Mr McIver, who was suspended from the Salvation Army late last week, dislocated a boy's shoulder and refused the Randall's request for a car to drive the boy to hospital. Instead, the officer forced the boy's arm back into its socket. When the Randalls reported the incident to the Queensland Department of Children's Services, they were labelled troublemakers and dismissed from their positions at the home. In January 1976, Mr McIver was transferred from Indooroopilly to the organisation's Pacific Lodge aged care facility in the Sydney suburb of Dee Why. He was promoted to Major in 1982. The hearing continues.
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