Historic abuse allegations rock elite private school
Lawyers are currently investigating allegations of historic abuse by a former boarding student at one of SA’s most prestigious schools.
Australian law firm Maurice Blackburn is currently investigating historic allegations of abuse at St Peter’s College in Adelaide.
The personal injury and compensation experts have been engaged by a former student, who alleges that he was abused by a teacher while a boarder at the school in the mid-1950s.
At the time of the alleged abuse, the student was in grades six and seven.
It is alleged that the student was abused while at the St Peter’s boarding house, where the teacher also worked, as well as at the teacher’s home.
Justine Kilkenny, who is a lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, called on anyone who might have knowledge about the alleged abuse to come forward, saying all calls from potential witnesses would be treated with strict confidentiality.
“This includes former students, staff or parents who may have seen or heard something that didn’t feel right at the time,” she said.
“What might seem a small piece of information to one person could potentially make a huge difference in this case for our client.”
Last year, St Peter’s College faced other historic abuse allegations stretching back to the 1980s and the 1990s from another former student. This student alleged that he was groomed and abused by school chaplain John Mountford.
Mountford fled Australia for Bali after separate 1992 allegations of sexual abuse came to light.
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The now deceased priest was later extradited to Australia and faced police charges of abusing a boy in 2005; however, the charges were later dropped.
Mountford was murdered in Libya in 2009, and the alleged victim of abuse relating to the 2005 charges by Mountford took his own life in 2014.
Last year, St Peter’s College also settled a lawsuit filed in the Victorian Supreme Court after a former student accused the school of failing to prevent a teacher from allegedly abusing him in the 1990s.
St Peter’s College did not respond to InDaily’s request for comment.
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