Former Principal of Shalom Christian College Says School Dealt with up to 20 Sexual Assaults Each Year
By Lauren Martyn-Jones
THE former principal of an indigenous boarding school in Townsville has told the royal commission the school dealt with about 20 sexual assaults a year. Christopher Shirley, who was the principal of Shalom Christian College in 2006 when a 14-year-old female student was allegedly gang-raped by four boys, told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that his school was “very under-resourced”. Mr Shirley said the indigenous boarding school was forced to divert money from its education budget to health and wellbeing programs to try to look after its students. The parents of the teenage victim told the royal commission on Wednesday they believed the school tried to cover up the 2006 rape and that they were treated like “dumb black people” by Mr Shirley. But Mr Shirley defended his reporting practices and rejected claims he tried to cover up the sexual assault. “I over-report, I don’t under-report, I don’t conceal matters,” he said. Mr Shirley said he made more reports to child services in a year working as the principal of Shalom Christian College than he had in his previous 20 years in schools. He said about five serious sexual assaults involving students would come to the attention of the school each term. But Mr Shirley agreed that the young victim, known to the royal commission as CLF, could have been provided with better support on the night she reported the rape. The current principal of Shalom Christian College, Christopher England, also gave evidence yesterday, claiming the school remains under resourced. When asked by counsel assisting the royal commission David Lloyd whether the current resourcing of the school allowed him to provide a safe environment for his students, Mr England answered: “No sir”.
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