AUSTRALIA
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
March 15, 2018
By Joanna Menagh
A former Kalgoorlie Catholic schoolboy who says he was sexually abused by a Christian Brother more than 50 years ago has expressed his relief that his long battle for justice has finally led to the man responsible admitting what he did.
James Brian Hamilton, who was a teacher at the Christian Brothers College in Kalgoorlie, has pleaded guilty to a charge of indecently and unlawfully dealing with a child under 14 — an offence that happened in 1964.
Hamilton, who is now in his 80s, appeared in Perth’s District Court via video link from Melbourne, where it is believed he has lived for the past few decades.
A second charge was discontinued by the prosecutor, who told the court the decision to drop that count was made on “public interest grounds”.
Watching on from the public gallery was Hamilton’s victim, who cannot be identified and is now in his 60s, but who was only aged about 13 when the abuse happened.
After the brief hearing, he spoke outside the court about his 50-year fight to bring Hamilton to justice and the effect the abuse has had on him.
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.