Disbelieving Brisbane Grammar School and St Paul’s School principals failed students, says commission report

PRINCIPALS of two elite Brisbane high schools who disbelieved allegations of sexual abuse, failed in their obligations to protect their students, a Royal Commission report has found.

TWO of Brisbane’s most elite private schools have come under fire for failing to protect students and dismissing allegations of child sexual abuse.

The Royal Commission investigating Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has released a scathing report into Brisbane Grammar School and St Paul’s School at Bald Hills, finding both schools failed in their duty to keep students safe.

Royal Commission public hearing in Brisbane — read the full report

The Commission has this morning formally responded to the evidence former students gave about the sexual abuse they suffered from Kevin Lynch — who was a teacher and counsellor at BGS between 1973 and 1988, and a counsellor at St Paul’s between 1989 and 1997 — and Gregory Robert Knight, who was a teacher at St Paul’s between 1981 and 1984.

During Lynch’s 15 years at Brisbane Grammar School, the Commission heard he sexually abused a large number of students, and that abuse had a devastating effect on his victims.

The Commission heard evidence a number of complaints against Lynch were made to senior staff at the school, most significantly to Maxwell Howell, who was the school’s headmaster between 1965 and 1989.

In 1981 a witness known to the Commission as BQH, told Dr Howell his son was sexually abused by Lynch, but that allegation was not investigated by the former headmaster, nor was it reported to the police or the board of trustees.

“In not doing so, he failed in his obligations to protect the safety and wellbeing of the students,” the Commission report says.

“We find that During Dr Howell’s period as headmaster there was a culture at Brisbane Grammar where boys who made allegations of sexual abuse were not believed and allegations were not acted upon,” the report reads.

The Commission heard evidence that during Lynch’s period of employment with BGS, “the school had no systems, policies or procedures in place for dealing with allegations of child sexual abuse of students”.

After Lynch left Brisbane Grammar School he took up a position as school counsellor at St Paul’s in 1989 and remained in that position until 1997, where the Commission heard he continued to sexually abuse students.

“There was evidence that the school (St Paul’s) was aware of complaints of sexual abuse of students by Mr Lynch and took no action to deal with those complaints,” the Commission’s report says.

The report finds that two students made complaints to former headmaster Gilbert Case in 1996 about being sexually abused by Lynch, but Mr Case told the students they were lying and threatened to punish them if they persisted with the allegations.

In 1997, while still employed as a counsellor with St Paul’s, Lynch was charged by Queensland Police with nine counts of offences committed against a student. Lynch committed suicide the following day.

The Commission also found Mr Case should done more to assess the job application Knight, who was employed as a teacher at St Paul’s in the early 1980s.

During Knight’s employment at St Paul’s, allegations were made that he abused a number of students, and he was later charged and convicted of sexual assault.

“We find the only action that St Paul’s took to deal with the allegations that Knight had sexually abused boys was that Mr Case accepted Knight’s resignation in October 1984,” the report says.

Mr Case also gave Knight a favourable reference.

“We find that Mr Case’s inaction in response to notifications of child sexual abuse by Knight and Lynch meant that Mr Case did not achieve his most fundamental obligation, which was to make sure students under his care were kept safe,” the report says.

During the time both Lynch and Knight were employed at St Paul’s, the Commission heard there was no system in place for dealing with allegations that students made about child sexual abuse.

The current headmaster and chairman of St Paul’s have told the Commission the culture of the school has now changed and there are systems, policies and procedures in place to deal with these allegations.

Anglican Schools Commission executive director Sherril Molloy said the report highlighted a devastating chapter in the St Paul’s school history from which many people were still struggling to recover.

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the survivors of this horrendous abuse whom we implore to come forward for care and assistance if they have yet to do so,” Ms Molloy said.

“We now have a raft of measures in place to better protect children including at least two trained student protection officers in each school supported by a former police detective inspector, a current police detective senior constable and a former State Government senior child safety officer.”

The report accepts that since 1998 BGS has put in place various policies and procedures to respond to complaints about sexual abuse.

Brisbane Grammar School has been contacted for comment. Last year the school removed Dr Howell’s name from the Indoor Sports Centre.

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