AUSTRALIA
Chinchilla News
Janine Hill | 3rd Nov 2016
UPDATE 1.50PM: The principal of Peregian Beach College has become emotional at the conclusion of his evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Chris Shirley was previously the head of Shalom Christian College, a Townsville school for predominantly indigenous students, where a 14-year-old female boarder was allegedly gang raped in 2006.
Mr Shirley, who has been at Peregian since 2009, blinked and appeared to battle to express himself when asked at the commission how safety concerns had been managed at Shalom following the alleged incident.
“Safety concerns were an ongoing issue and probably still are. It takes a toll on everybody,” Mr Shirley said.
The girl’s parents had told the commission earlier in the week that Mr Shirley had painted their daughter as promiscuous and tried to discourage them from taking the matter further, saying the boys were from influential families.
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