AUSTRALIA
Northern Rivers Echo
Jessica Grewal 15th Apr 2014
THE “sadistic” Salvation Army officers who once ruled the Riverview Boy’s home may never be held accountable for their sins but the end of yesterday’s royal commission hearing brought much-needed closure to the surviving victims who shed light on one of the most disturbing chapters in the region’s history.
Over the past two months, the royal commission has been investigating the Salvation Army’s response to victims who claimed they had been abused at the hands of those who were supposed to protect them at several of the organisation’s boy’s homes across Queensland and New South Wales.
At least five of the offending officers, two of whom are still living, were said to have been transferred between the homes rather than being reprimanded.
The commission heard that a culture of abuse going unreported had existed from the turbulent post-Second World War period, right up until Riverview – later known as the Endeavour Training Farm – was shut down by the State Government in the late 1970s.
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