Church Reaffirms Apology over Abuse

news.com.au
June 5, 2015

http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/church-reaffirms-apology-over-sa-abuse/story-e6frfku9-1227384551762

THE Catholic Church has reaffirmed an apology to students and families affected by abuse at a school in Adelaide following a damning report from the sex abuse royal commission.

IT has also pledged to circulate the findings to every Catholic school principal in SA to ensure they are complying with policies and practices to prevent such abuse happening again.

Vicar General Philip Marshall said the report made it clear systemic failures at St Ann's Special School allowed bus driver Brian Perkins to abuse intellectually disabled children between 1986 and 1991.

Father Marshall repeated the "full and complete" apology first offered in 2002 for the "suffering and anguish" inflicted on the children and their families.

In its report on Thursday the abuse inquiry detailed a litany of failures by police, the school and the church in their handling of the St Ann's case.

It found church parties failed to take action to ensure the matters were fully reported and investigated and said the payment of "gifts" to former St Ann's students did not provide an adequate response for some families.

It said police failed to issue a warrant for Perkins' arrest in 1991, despite having information about three prior convictions, the nature of sexual allegations against him and the risk he posed of further sexual offences against children.

The school was criticised for not obtaining a police clearance before hiring Perkins and for failing to comply with its own policy requiring volunteers to be supervised by a registered teacher.

Perkins was arrested in 1993 but skipped bail and fled to Queensland.

He was eventually extradited to South Australia in 2002 and died in jail in 2009 while serving 10 years after pleading guilty to sex offences.