An Auckland woman claims she was sexually abused when she was 11 years old during the 1987 track and field event in Sydney

WARNING: PAIN CONTENT

A woman who claims she was sexually abused by a team official while competing for Auckland as an 11-year-old sprinter in the 1980s received an extraordinary apology from the athletics governing body.

The woman, now 40, informed Athletics Auckland of the alleged assault and asked if she was the only victim of abuse by the man. An internal organization investigation found no confirmed cases of serious sexual assault, but found examples of “sordid” and “delicate” behavior on the part of the alleged perpetrator.

Athletics Auckland President David Sim admitted that he “would not be surprised if more adults showed up as a result of [today’s] history”.

In a joint statement to the Herald, Athletics Auckland and Athletics New Zealand said they have changed their protocols around child safety to try to ensure such incidents do not occur.

“Athletics Auckland and Athletics NZ learned of an allegation that, in the late 1980s, a young athlete was sexually assaulted by a team official while she was part of an Auckland Athletics team,” the statement read.

“We understand that the athlete was 11 years old at the time and now … he has spoken about what happened. The team official involved died more than 10 years ago.

“First, we want to acknowledge the extreme courage it takes to talk about this, the immense pain it caused this person and the pain they have been living with in silence for over 30 years. Both Athletics Auckland and Athletics NZ have offered she our unreserved apology because this happened to her while she was participating in our sport.

“The abuse and mistreatment of athletes, especially child athletes, is abhorrent and unacceptable.”

The woman was part of a youth team from Auckland that traveled to New South Wales and Canberra to compete. She was alone in her dorm at Macquarie University in Sydney’s northern suburbs when she says she was abused by Donald Parker, who was

the team doctor.

Parker was nicknamed Dr. Don, but he was a St. John ambulance officer rather than a doctor.

The woman, who asked not to be identified, said she had learned to live with her secret but that it was “triggered” when she watched the Netflix documentary Athlete A. As she watched American gymnasts talk about the abuse they had suffered at the hands of a doctor from team Larry Nassar

, the woman turned to her husband and said: “My God. That happened to me.”

Since then he has contacted Auckland Athletics and the police. The police took his complaint and gave him a case number, but later informed him that they would not investigate because the perpetrator is dead.

“I can’t apologize enough for the shit he had to go through,” Sim said. “I am absolutely shocked that someone has been through what she went through. She is incredibly brave to come out and tell [the public] what happened. I really feel sorry for her.

“The thing is, the guy gets away with it because he’s dead.”

Over the years, Parker acted “strangely” by several people, but was never held accountable.

The Herald learned that Parker was warned by at least one athletic official that he would be better off not attending future events at Mt Smart Stadium.

“Witnesses observed that he comforted the girls in a rather affectionate way, encircling their chest with his royal arm or risking touching the chest area,” the internal investigation found.

Parker died in 2007. There are few records of his death, just a note in the 2008 San Juan yearbook.

“St John can confirm that the individual volunteered for St John between 1982 and 2007,” the organization told the Herald.

“[We are] unaware of complaints of this nature against the individual during his time as a volunteer at St. John. “

Parker was connected to the Howick Athletic Club before it disbanded a few years ago. He was also a familiar face on the track and field scene in the 1980s.

“He was very involved. He was the first aid man and he always had kids hanging around him,” the victim said. “He was strangely charismatic in that sense.”

The victim claims she was abused during the 1987 Trans Tasman Challenge, a gathering of the best boys and girls under 10 and under 11 from Auckland and New South Wales, held in Sydney.

The team had visited a swimming complex in Canberra that morning before traveling to Sydney by bus. According to the victim, she had asked Parker about a minor complaint and he agreed to come see her when they got to her accommodation.

The victim was alone and says Parker laid her on her bed and abused her digitally.

“Even at that age I was thinking, ‘What the hell are you doing?’

“Dr. Don told me not to tell anyone, so I haven’t. I was very good at keeping that secret.”

Sim said it was best for everyone to find out more, even if the truth was hard to digest.

Parker also reportedly attended cricket matches at Lloyd Elsmore Park in East Auckland and was once seen on a bench with his arm around a young girl. A former police commander spoke to Parker and told him that what he was doing was inappropriate, but the matter did not go any further.

The Herald has been told that two years before the alleged sexual assault, during another Trans Tasman Challenge in Sydney, an adult woke up in the middle of the night to find Parker in her room lighting his torch on her. He said he was checking that everyone was asleep and again no further action was taken.

It is also understood, but not confirmed, that Parker’s name was sent to then-Manukau City Mayor Sir Barry Curtis to receive royal honors for community service, but he was fired due to concerns about his character.

Curtis, 81, told the Herald that he did not recall specifically discussing this case, but said that if those kinds of concerns had been raised and the evidence was credible, “it certainly would have been my reaction.”

Their report concluded that “Parker was known to at least some people in athletics for being what could be described as seedy, too familiar with young women and touchy.”

What’s also clear, the report acknowledges, is that none of these concerns advanced beyond telling him to stay away from Mt Smart Stadium and keep an eye on himself.

Sim said Athletics Auckland would also carry out a comprehensive review of its appointment processes as a result of the victim’s story.

“It wasn’t as robust then as it is now,” he said. “But we will look at all of our processes around child protection, which involve both harassment and sexual assault. We are reviewing them right now as a direct result of what happened with [the victim]. “

Looking back at the way he acted and his way of convincing her to keep it a secret, the victim can’t help but feel like she is one of many.

In his opinion, “people participated in his behavior and did nothing about it; I do not believe for a minute that he is their only victim.”

She said that she and her father ran into Parker at a track meet shortly after the alleged assault and said Parker started acting strangely.

“I was treating another girl for an injury and she tried so hard to explain to my father exactly what he was doing and why, even though Dad never asked. At the same time, he didn’t even look at me.”

He said that taking a step forward was a form of catharsis. He has recently told his elderly father what happened.

She also wants Parker to pay for his crime, even if it’s just “dirtying his name.”

She has photos of the trip and feels sick when she looks at them.

“There is no way I should look attractive to a grown man. I look like a girl.”