ST. LOUIS (MO)
Waiting for Godot to Leave
Kevin O’Brien
Hey, St. Louis is suddenly trendy!
The Australians are investigating sex abuse within the Marist order. One of the serial pedophiles was Brother Gregory Sutton. There’s a St. Louis connection here, as Sutton left Australia at one point to become headmaster of a school here in St. Louis.
But that’s not the only St. Louis connection! It turns out events in my home town are also inspiring depositions and testimonies half way around the world!
The Canberra Times reports this testimony from one of Sutton’s Marist brothers …
“Do you mean you didn’t know it was a crime [to molest a child]?,” Royal Commission Chair, Justice Jennifer Coate asked.
“I’m unsure, it could well be the case. I’m unsure of that,” Mr Holdsworth replied.
The former Marist Brother was also unsure if, in 1989, he was aware that children were at risk of predatory sexual behaviour by adults.
“I really can’t put a time line to it [when he became aware of that],” he said.
Justice Coate asked him his age at that time.
“50 something, 54,” he said.
“Did you read newspapers or watch television?” Justice Coate asked.
“In some measure,” Holdworthy said. “I might have turned to the sport first.”
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