AUSTRALIA
9 News
A former long-serving headmaster of Sydney’s elite Knox Grammar School covered up allegations of child abuse by staff and gave clearly incorrect evidence about his knowledge of such accusations, a royal commission has found.
Dr Ian Paterson, who served as headmaster at the exclusive north shore boys’ school for almost 30 years, told the Royal Commission into Institutional Reponses to Child Sex Abuse last year he only heard of one instance of sex abuse at the school.
But in a report released on Tuesday, the commission found his evidence was “clearly incorrect”, and Dr Paterson knew of allegations against three other teachers and an “affair” between another teacher and a student.
Dr Paterson was also aware of a sexual assault on a 14-year-old student, known as ARN, in one of the boarding house dormitories by a man wearing a balaclava, the commission found.
The commissioners said Dr Paterson failed to prioritise the welfare of the boys at Knox over the reputation of the school by covering up allegations in relation to two teachers, and failing to notify the parents of a boy who made allegations.
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