Former Tenison College student claims abuse at hands of Marist Brother Gerard McNamara in court documents

A former student of Mt Gambier’s largest private school has accused a former teacher of historic sex crimes. The Marist Brothers are accused of knowing the now-convicted paedophile was a risk.

A former student of a Mount Gambier Catholic school has made bombshell claims of sexual abuse at the hands of a Marist Brother whom she alleges was a known risk to children.

The woman, who is identified by an alias in court lists, attended Tenison College in the late 1970s, when she was a teenager, and was taught by Brother Gerard McNamara – who has since been jailed over crimes against children committed in Victoria.

She launched action in the NSW Supreme Court Common Law division claiming the Marist Brothers, who ran the school until it amalgamated with a primary school in 2001 to become Tenison Woods College, failed in a duty of care to her.

Tenison Woods College is now run by lay staff and is not a party to the lawsuit.

The victim was in year 11 and 12 when she was claims to have been approached by McNamara, who then abused her “during school hours and at various locations”.

Court documents allege the majority of the abuse occurred at Marist House, where McNamara and the other brothers were housed.

The victim claims that at least two other Marist Brothers – including the then-principal of the school – knew McNamara was “spending lengthy periods of time in a closed room” with the underage girl during school hours.

In a statement of claim lodged in the South Australian Supreme Court, which is now hearing the case, the woman claims McNamara was sent to the “National Pastoral Institute in Melbourne” in 1977.

“The National Pastoral Institute was an organisation where Catholic priests and brothers were sent when they were known to have a propensity to sexually abuse children,” the victim alleges in her statement of claim.

“Prior to the sexual abuse of the plaintiff by Gerard McNamara, the (Marist Brothers) knew, or ought to have known that he had a propensity to sexually abuse children.”

Former school teacher Gerard Joseph McNamara in 2018. He has been convicted for abusing more than 15 students in Traralgon. Picture: Joe Castro

McNamara, who was known to students as “The Rat”, has since been jailed for abusing more than 15 students while headmaster at St Paul’s Catholic College in Traralgon, Victoria between 1970 and 1975. He has not been convicted in relation to the latest victim.

He abused the victims under the guise of sports massage and admitted in court to targeting one victim more than 30 times.

McNamara has been sentenced four times in the past 16 years for his crimes against students at the college.

The Marist Brothers have already paid out more than $4m in compensation to McNamara’s numerous victims.

Previously, it has been reported that complaints about McNamara’s behaviour towards students stem back to 1959.

In their defence lodged with the court, the Marist Brothers deny most of the allegations.

Specifically, the religious order says they owned the land on which the school was operated, but the day-to-day functioning of the college was run by a board of governors.

They also deny that they are liable for any misconduct committed by McNamara while he was teaching at the school.

The Marist Brothers specifically state they do not admit any misconduct by McNamara.

Tenison Woods College principal David Mezinec declined to comment, saying it would be inappropriate to say anything while the matter was before the courts.

A lawyer for the Marist Brothers also declined to comment on behalf of his clients.

The case continues before the Supreme Court.