AUSTRALIA
Telegraph
NATHAN KLEIN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH JANUARY 30, 2014
* Boys ‘were assaulted in showers and were too afraid to complain’
* Victim recalls how elder boys would rape younger residents
* One ‘violent officer’ would punch boys as young as four years old
SALVATION Army officers fondled boys’ penises while they were in the shower, frequently assaulted them and did nothing when told one of the boys in their care was raped, the royal commission into child sex abuse heard yesterday.
Speaking at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, one man – identified only as Mr F P – said he was regularly subjected to sexual abuse and sadistic punishment by officers who were supposed to be caring for him.
He told the inquest one of the officers, Lieutenant Spratt, approached him and other boys staying at the charity’s homes while they were naked in the showers.
“He touched my backside and I moved away because of what other boys told me about him,” he said.
“I saw him touch other boys too. I saw him touch a boy’s penis in the shower for about a minute or two. It wasn’t a brush, he was fondling him.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.