Prestigious school in spotlight at royal commission

AUSTRALIA
ABC – PM

TIM PALMER: The former head of one of Australia’s most elite schools has spent hours in the witness box at the royal commission into child sex abuse.

Robert Bugg was campus headmaster of Geelong Grammar, investigated for its response to several abuse allegations.

Previous witnesses gave evidence that Mr Bugg contributed to expelling a student who make allegations of abuse.

Today Mr Bugg denied that, saying if he’d been told at the time he would have acted.

Tom Nightingale reports.

TOM NIGHTINGALE: Robert Bugg was the master of Geelong Grammar’s Highton campus at a time when one staff member was committing devastating abuse.

Boarding house staffer Philippe Trutmann admitted to abusing 40 students over a decade ending in 1995.

Robert Bugg was questioned extensively about Trutmann today, and consistently denied knowing anything was wrong.

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