AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites
By a Broken Rites researcher (article updated 7 November 2014)
Helped by Broken Rites, victims of Christian Brother “Neil” Richards have achieved justice. On 7 November 2014, a Sydney court ordered Richards to be taken into custody to await his sentence for indecently assaulting young boys in the 1970s and ’80s. The church had known for years about Richards offending but the crimes were concealed from the police (and from the public) — until now.
Brother “Neil” Richards has had a long career as a Christian Brother, including as a headmaster, in Catholic schools in New South Wales.
Originally, one victim contacted Broken Rites, which advised him to have a private interview with a Detectives Office of the NSW Police. Later, another victim from a different school came forward. Detectives then investigated and found more victims.
In 2013 the detectives learned that Richards was working at the Catholic Church headquarters in Rome. When he re-visited Australia, police arrested him in November 2013.
During early and mid-2014, Richards appeared in court, charged (under his birth name, Desmond Eric Richards), regarding four victims who had spoken to the police. The court was told that, after the boys had been sexually assaulted by Brother Richards, they were regularly beaten with a strap.
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