Girl Raped at Townsville Boarding School

By Lauren Martyn-Jones
Courier-Mail
November 2, 2016

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/girl-raped-at-townsville-boarding-school/news-story/63e7ca77a48c3f984c986d788337643c

THE parents of a women allegedly raped at an indigenous boarding school in Townsville when she was 14, have told a royal commission they believe the school tried to cover up the attack on their daughter.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is hearing evidence about an alleged sexual assault that took place at Shalom Christian College in Townsville in 2006.

The victim’s mother broke down this morning in the witness box, as she recalled the attack on her daughter and the long-term psychological consequences it has had on her family.

The woman, known to the commission as EAL, said she sent her daughter to the Townsville-based boarding school for indigenous students because she felt inclined to trust a school established to educate Aboriginal children.

“I thought Shalom would be more culturally appropriate than the other boarding schools around, so we decided to put our faith in Shalom and enrol her there,” she said.

But ELM told the royal commission that in late March 2006, she received a call, informing her that her daughter, a student in Year 10 known as CLF, had been raped.

She later learned four male boarders were involved in the alleged sexual assault which took place behind the back of the school.

The mother said she arrived at the Townsville school with her husband days later and met with the school’s then principal Christopher Shirley.

“From the moment (Mr) Shirley opened his mouth it seemed like he was trying to paint a picture of our daughter, that she was asking for what those boys did to her,” ELM said.

The mother told the royal commission that she believed the police had only found out about the rape of her daughter because they had attended the school on an unrelated matter.

She accused Mr Shirley of treating her and her husband like they were “dumb black people”.

“(Mr) Shirley told us the boys who assaulted CLF were from influential families in Townsville, my response was ‘so what’? My daughter has been raped by their sons,” she said.

The woman’s husband, known to the commission as EAM, said he formed the view that Mr Shirley wanted the matter swept under the rug, and discouraged the couple from taking it any further.

“Shirley made it crystal clear he wanted the matter covered up,” the father said.

But school counsellor Amy Bridson told the royal commission that Mr Shirley made a report about the sexual assault to both child protection authorities and to the police.

Ms Bridson said a meeting was arranged between police and the teenage victim, but it was cancelled at the request of the parents.

“It seemed off to me, it felt like they didn’t want us to report it, and I was very upset and confused about that,” Ms Bridson said.

The girl’s parents told the commission the police interviewewas delayed because they wanted to be there with their daughter and ensure a female officer or an indigenous liaison officer was present.

The mother said she also requested a meeting with the school’s board of directors, but quickly felt like they were just offering lip service to the distraught parents.

“The board was in damage control, they said they couldn’t do much because there was a police investigation, it felt like they weren’t taking any responsibility for what happened to our CLF,” she said.

The royal commission hearings will continue this afternoon.