[ad_1]
The alleged decades-long sexual abuse at a boarding school for boys in Auckland prompted a seventh man to appear in court and generated more than 50 calls and emails to police after officers called for more victims to come forward.
The allegations of child abuse at Dilworth, a private school in an affluent area of New Zealand’s largest city, emerged at the same time as a long-running independent investigation into the abuse in state and faith-based care seeks find out how prevalent the problem has been in the country.
Police have identified 17 victims so far and charged men in their 60s and 70s with various sex crimes and drug supply, for abuses they say took place between the 1970s and early 2000s.
Police said in a statement that a 60-year-old man, who had previously been associated with the school, appeared in court in Auckland on Tuesday charged with rape, attempted rape, indecency and indecent assault. It followed the court appearances of six other men the day before.
They all have name suppression. The initial report about the alleged abuse was made in 2019, Detective Sergeant Major Geoff Baber said in a statement.
All Dilworth students are interns, ages nine to 18, and all receive full scholarships to attend; Traditionally, places have been granted to boys from families of what the school’s website calls “limited means”. The school is “founded on Anglican principles,” the website says.
Ken Clearwater, the Aotearoa national advocate for male survivors, said targeting boys from poorer or more challenging backgrounds meant they had been especially vulnerable to abuse, but the school had responded well to the claims.
“To me, what Dilworth has done is absolutely incredible,” Clearwater said. “They have been honest, open and genuinely apologetic.”
He also praised the police handling of the accusations. In the statement, Baber said officers “respect the courage of those who have contacted us” and “acknowledge that it can be difficult for victims to come forward.”
The police have asked that anyone who can help with the investigation contact them.
Andrew Snodgrass, president of the school board, apologized for the alleged abuse. “This should never have happened,” he told reporters in Auckland on Monday.
“We deeply regret what has happened in our past and the damaging effects on our elders who were abused in our care.”
Snodgrass added that the school had offered support to anyone wishing to file a complaint and had not sought to have their name legally removed, to encourage others to come forward.
The school had committed to the ongoing royal commission on abuse in state and faith-based care, he said. That investigation, which investigates the abuse of children between 1950 and 1999, recently held its 500th private session with survivors of abuse.
Clearwater said that sexual abuse in New Zealand schools had been a widespread problem, reflecting the historical accusations that have emerged from British and Australian schools in recent years.
One of the most egregious earlier cases in New Zealand was that of the Marylands School in Christchurch, run by a Catholic order, the Saint John of God Brothers, where staff were involved in 121 allegations of abuse dating back to the 1970s. .
