AUSTRALIA
ABC – PM
PETER LLOYD: This story from the Child Abuse Royal Commission contains details you may find disturbing.
An Anglican priest has accused the church and the police of failing to act, after her son was sexually abused by a man in the Diocese of Newcastle in New South Wales.
Today’s hearing was told that the boy disclosed the abuse to the police in 2002, but it took three years before the man was put before the courts.
Both the mother and the son gave evidence that, throughout the ordeal, the church supported the perpetrator and avoided taking responsibility.
Thomas Oriti reports.
THOMAS ORITI: It began as a friendship between a 12-year-old boy and Ian Barrack, a 28-year-old theology student.
They lived a short distance from each other in 1997 and the boy, who we can’t name, went to Barrack’s house to use the internet.
CKU: Ian befriended me more and he became touchy with me. It started with a pat on the back; then a rub on the shoulder. And it progressed to massages when I stayed over at his house.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.