AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun
Royal Commission findings slam St Ann’s Special School, police and church over notorious bus driver paedophile Brian Perkins
POLICE REPORTER JORDANNA SCHRIEVER THE ADVERTISER JUNE 04, 2015
THE child-abuse royal commission has released damning findings into the response of the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide and SA Police over the handing of horrific child sexual abuse at St Ann’s Special School.
The findings, released today, found the school, police and church had failed to protect the school’s intellectually disabled children, many of whom were abused by notorious bus driver paedophile Brian Perkins.
Perkins was employed as a bus driver at the school in 1986 driving children with intellectual disabilities to and from school daily while unsupervised.
The Royal Commission report found:
THE school did not comply with its own policy requiring that volunteers be supervised by a registered teacher, which created further opportunities for Perkins to sexually abuse children in his care.
THE Catholic Education Office did not have a policy on respite care by employees or volunteers.
AFTER complaints were made about Perkins in 1991, police investigated and pornographic photographs of students who attended the school were found at his home. However it was not until 2003 that he was convicted of five sexual offences against three students at St Ann’s and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.
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