State care abuse survivor believes her abuser had offended before

A child abuse survivor in state custody says he believes a homeroom teacher who abused him was allowed to “quietly slip away” and reoffend.

Survivors are providing evidence to the Royal Abuse Investigation Commission in response to their struggles to obtain reparation.

Keith Wiffin became a ward of the state at the age of 11, following the death of his father.

“My mother signed the document thinking that she would take care of me and take care of me. Quite the opposite happened, ”she told the commission in Auckland on Monday.

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In addition to the violence, Wiffin said he was sexually abused by one of the housewives, Alan Moncrief-Wright, who he said was responsible for similar crimes at a Hamilton institution.

Moncrief-Wright was eventually jailed on multiple counts of sexual assault and is now dead.

“I think he was allowed to quietly slip away and reoffend due to the reckless and negligent conduct of the administration at the time.”

He hoped the commission would investigate this.

“There is a perception that this is just something that happens in the Catholic Church in distant countries. It is not the case. It happened here. “

Wiffin told the Commission that the violence started in the back of the truck as it was driving to Epuni Boys Home.

The violence continued with regular fights, sometimes supervised by staff.

On a few occasions, Wiffin required hospital care with broken bones that required attention.

He said Moncrief-Wright abused him on several occasions. “I didn’t tell anyone about it at the time because I was terrified of (him).”

After seven and a half months, Wiffin was transferred to a family home where the violence continued, which he said had a devastating effect. “The impact has continued throughout my life. I treated things in different ways. Sometimes alcohol abuse was a problem. “

He also suffered from depression and nightmares.

Wiffin said she was in denial but eventually approached human rights attorney Sonja Cooper to present a case.

The preparations for the case were stressful and Wiffin finally met with the Crown with a view to reaching an agreement.

Wiffin said the Crown sent him a letter saying that he would face “considerable obstacles” in his legal case.

“This was protecting and defending one of New Zealand’s worst child abusers.”

Wiffin eventually participated in a police proceeding against Moncrief-Wright, who he claims pleaded guilty and was jailed in 2011.

Wiffin eventually received a letter of apology and a check for $ 20,000.

The apology lessened his anger, but Wiffin compared it to taking two panadols for a migraine: “it took the edge off.

He said the children’s home had had a lasting effect. Another boy who was once abused dreamed of being an army captain, but ended up a gang member with a 13-page criminal record.

“A short stay at the Epuni children’s home turned out to be a life sentence … It has had a massive impact on this nation. They were very wrong in the first place and now we are reaping what they sowed. “

He said that the courts were not the appropriate mechanism to deal with redress and that an independent claims process was needed instead.

Previously, the Commission heard from the mother of a deaf man who was beaten at a school for deaf children.

Cheryl Munro said her son James Packer was beaten and beaten as a child for using sign language at the Kelston School for the Deaf in the 1980s.

Munro read parts of his son’s affidavit to the Royal Commission on Abuse of State Care on Monday.

In his statement, Packer said he suffered repeated physical and emotional abuse at the hands of a teacher.

He said they hit him on the head and on the stomach.

Packer also saw the professor break the arm of a friend of his. “This was very upsetting for me and distressing.”

Despite a complaint from Packer’s mother, nothing was done and the violence continued.

“I felt powerless and it was difficult to communicate what was happening because I was so scared.”

He later sought redress from the Crown for the abuses he had suffered and took legal action.

The Education Ministry said they had no records of the teacher abusing the students before 1990, but Munro told the commission that didn’t mean it didn’t happen.

He noted that the ministry also had no record of his complaint.

However, ministry records showed that the anonymous teacher was later disciplined by the school and asked to attend a refresher course after further complaints emerged.

Munro said the teacher was allowed to continue teaching.

“It was completely disheartening. They didn’t believe us… It is very difficult to know where to go. We had trouble trying to get a repair. There was no place to go. “

The attorney who attended the commission, Hanne Janes, asked what they wanted as a result of their complaint.

“Just believe him and listen and believe the other children … They just had no voice.”

He said police investigated the teacher in 2014, but did not proceed with a prosecution due to the historical nature.

The legal action lasted five years and ended with a settlement, but Packer described it as “a futile exercise.”

After five years, Packer received an apology and a $ 10,000 settlement.

Janes asked Munro how that experience had been.

“It is difficult to describe. It is simply debilitating. You feel so alone that there is no one to help you. “

He was surprised to learn later that the “sadistic” teacher was still teaching vulnerable children.

Later, at age 21, Packer was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia. He said in his statement that he was named a patient at Sunnyside Psychiatric Hospital.

“During this time I was heavily medicated with a cocktail of antipsychotic drugs that left me crawling on the ground, unable to walk.”

It took two years before an international expert from Australia correctly diagnosed Asperger’s.

He said Sunnyside staff refused to acknowledge the diagnosis.

He was also physically assaulted by staff.

Munro said the effects on his son were still apparent.

There was another agreement and apology.

“Trying to get recognition should never be that difficult,” Munro said.

She said her family lived on “the bread line” supporting Packer.

When asked how his son was doing, Munro said he still had side effects from the drug.

“He still puts clothes against the door to prevent the brutal master from coming to attack him. He still has nightmares. He is almost 50 years old. “

He encouraged the commission to continue its work.

“It’s going to change lives.”

WHERE VICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE CAN GET HELP

• Rape crisis – 0800 88 33 00 (will direct you to a nearby center), follow the link for information on local helplines

• Support for victims – 0800842846 (24 hour service)

• PortOnline information, support and information for people affected by harmful sexual behaviors

• Women’s shelter (For women and children) – crisis line available at 0800733843

• Sure talk – 0800 044 334, text message 4334 or web chat

• Male survivors Aotearoa (For men): follow the link for regional helplines

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111.