NEW ZEALAND
Radio NZ
November 26, 2018
By Phil Pennington
More survivors of clerical sex abuse are coming forward after Catholic school Old Boys formed an online support network as the Church continues stonewalling over the extent of sexual predation.
As the new victims emerged, a Catholic religious order used the upcoming Royal Commission as a reason for not providing information to RNZ about known child abusers, even though a report on faith-based abuse is not due until 2023.
St Bernard’s Lower Hutt Old Boy Patrick Hill and another abuse victim, Steve Goodlass, set up a Facebook group to offer assistance and in doing so unearthed further victims, Mr Hill told RNZ.
In 2015 Mr Hill instigated the prosecution Marist Brother, Patrick Bignell, which led to his conviction for abusing Mr Hill and two other boys.
“We now have information that in fact there were seven of us abused by Brother Patrick Bignell during the 1980s and 90s,” Mr Hill said.
“Victims have come out of the woodwork… He took nude photos of many of his victims. He also used those same photos to groom and lure other boys. So he created a trail of victims and a timeline for us to track.”
St Bernard’s School and the Church told RNZ Catholic authorities were not aware of any information that suggested other victims of Brother Bignell existed.
There was also no record of attempts being made in the intervening decades to find other victims or confront other predators.
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