AUSTRALIA
The Guardian
Bridie Jabour
@bkjabour
Monday 23 February 2015
The prestigious Knox Grammar school gave a former teacher a positive reference after he left the school amid allegations of indecently assaulting one student and hitting two others.
Former house resident and teacher Damian Vance gave evidence to the royal commission into institutional responses to child abuse on Tuesday as the first abuser to front the inquiry after a day and a half of victim statements.
Vance was accused of indecently assaulting a boy in 1987 on the grounds of Knox but was not asked to resign until two years later. He was also accused of hitting boys in 1985 and 1986.
When Vance needed a reference to get a job in Melbourne, the school’s headmaster, Dr Ian Paterson, provided one calling Vance a “strong teacher and personality” who knew the “arts and craft of teaching”.
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