Prestigious school 'removed Brother' after complaint

A Christian Brother was quickly removed from a prestigious Melbourne school after an informal complaint of inappropriate behaviour, an inquiry has heard.

The Royal Commission is ongoing.

The Royal Commission is ongoing. Source: AAP

Then St Kevin's College headmaster Br Brian Brandon "got rid of" the man after the 1983 or 1984 information about him behaving inappropriately with some of the boys, the child abuse royal commission heard.

He was sent away during the school holidays in the middle of the year, barrister Jim Shaw said.

"He simply didn't come back to school for the next term," said Mr Shaw, appearing for two Ballarat victims of pedophile Christian Brothers and priests.

Br Brandon agreed with Mr Shaw that sort of thing did not happen very often at St Kevin's during his watch.
Br Brandon said "something happened" and the Brother did leave St Kevin's.

"There was no complaint that actually came to me," Br Brandon said.

"I became aware of the issue, let me put it that way."

Br Brandon agreed with Mr Shaw that he acted appropriately and "got rid of him".

Br Brandon said the man, who was not charged with any crime, did not remain a Christian Brother for very long.

Asked to explain the difference in how the St Kevin's complaint was handled compared to suggestions of inappropriate conduct by Brothers in St Patrick's Province, Br Brandon said he was on the spot.

"I had firsthand sort of experience of what was going on and I acted on that."

The 1978-1985 St Kevin's headmaster said he was not told about complaints against another Brother, BWX, who taught under him at the Toorak school in the late 1970s.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world