AUSTRALIA
Armidale Express
By DANNIELLE MAGUIRE
April 27, 2016,.
FOUR generations from one family have been left with the scars from child sexual abuse.
Grandmother Claire Jurd had to bury a son, Peter Jurd has lost a brother, Claire-Anne Jurd has had to confront adulthood without a father, and little Indi will never know her grandfather.
Together, they tied a ribbon for the man missing from their family – Damian Jurd, who took his own life after being sexually abused by former Catholic priest John Joseph Farrell.
Damian spoke up about what happened to him, however, charges laid in 1987 against the defrocked priest went to a committal hearing and were dismissed by a magistrate.
It was reported the magistrate thought Damian, who was 15 at the time, was not as credible a witness as the priest.
The abuse took its toll on Damian, who ended his life in 2001.
He was just 28-years-old.
Nearly 10 years later and on Thursday, his family travelled from Tamworth to Armidale to honour Damian’s memory.
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