AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times
February 9, 2016
Christopher Knaus and Megan Gorrey
Two former Marist brothers have signalled they will try to avoid going to trial on historical child sexual abuse charges.
John William Chute, 83, and Gregory Joseph Sutton, 64, were among four men police charged with fresh offences as part of an ongoing investigation into child sexual abuse in ACT schools in the 1980s.
Chute did not appear in court to face two charges of indecent assault on a male and two acts of indecency on a person aged between 10 and 16.
His defence lawyer told Magistrate Bernadette Boss his client was infirm and suffered from Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
The court heard Chute, known as Brother Kostka, was the subject of separate charges in NSW that were set to come before court on Friday.
He had been assessed by experts to determine whether he could be declared unfit for trial.
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