AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites
By a Broken Rites researcher (updated 24 January 2014)
A member of the Catholic religious order of Marist Brothers in New South Wales — Brother Francis William Cable, known as Brother “Romuald” — was ordered on 23 January 2014 to stand trial on more than 50 charges of sexual offences allegedly committed against 21 boys. The charges include buggery, plus multiple counts of indecent assault.
This order was made by a magistrate after a committal hearing was completed in the Newcastle Local Court. The case will now go to a judge in the District Court of New South Wales.
The offences are alleged to have occurred in the 1960s and 1970s.
Brother Cable has not yet entered pleas to the charges.
How the case began
In December 2012, Strike Force Georgiana detectives investigating historical child sex allegations arrested Brother “Romuald” Cable (date of birth 3 May 1932) in a Canberra suburb (where he was living) after information from two former Marist school students in the Newcastle region. The detectives charged Brother Romuald with three indecent assault offences against the two students.
On 29 January 2013 Brother Romuald Cable appeared in Newcastle Local court, where the charges were officially recorded. The detectives increased the number of indecent assault charges to 23, and added two buggery charges. The number of alleged victims increased from two to six. After this court appearance, more former students contacted Strike Force Georgiana detectives.
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