Majority of appeal dismissed against former Catholic Brother Daniel Slattery for historical sex offences against boys

The Court of Criminal Appeal has handed down their decision against one of NSW’s most notorious paedophiles and former Catholic Brother Daniel Slattery. Read the result.

Kendall Grange college, Morriset. where convicted paedophile former Catholic Brother Daniel Slattery used to work.

The Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) has dismissed the majority of an appeal against one of NSW’s most notorious paedophiles and former Catholic Brother Daniel Slattery, but has overturned a finding of guilt on one historical offence of indecent assault.

A five-member bench of the Court of Criminal Appeal in Sydney – the state’s highest court for criminal matters – delivered it’s decision promptly on Friday morning.

A former brother at the Catholic boys home the Kendall Grange Special School for Boys in Morisset, known as the “house of evil”, Slattery was sentenced in November 2021 for raping and assaulting three boys, then aged nine to 13, between January 1980 and December 1980.

Former Catholic Brother Daniel Slattery.

Aerial picture of buildings at Kendall Grange School Morisset NSW

The offending involved various acts of sexual abuse which occurred at several locations at the school, including in Slattery’s bedroom and in other areas of the dormitory in the presence of other students.

The 67-year-old – who suffers from Parkinson disease – was convicted in Sydney’s Downing centre by Judge Helen Syme of multiple child sexual offences including aggravated sexual assault and committing acts of indecency and he was ordered to serve a cumulative term of 11 years.

In November last year, it was the first time since 2005 the CCA – led by Chief Justice Andrew Bell – sat in Newcastle to hear the conviction appeal by Slattery.

Brother Daniel Slattery in Ballarat – his appeal has been dismissed besides one finding of guilt quashed. Picture: Jason Edwards

The former Catholic brother challenged the reliability of each complainant’s identification of him as the perpetrator of the offences.

His lawyers argued that, if it was accepted that the alleged acts occurred, the Crown had not eliminated the possibility that they had been performed by any of the other Brothers.

It followed evidence that the other Brothers would frequently engage in violent and sexual behaviour towards children, and that supported a finding that the alleged acts occurred in 1981, after Slattery had left the School.

The three main issues on appeal were whether there had been a miscarriage of justice because Slattery’s lawyers had not led evidence of his good character, and that they had not used evidence of prior criminal convictions against the complainants to challenge their credibility.

The appeal also heard arguments in regards to the guilty verdicts in counts one to 11 and 13, which they said was not supported by evidence, or in the alternative that the verdict was unreasonable.

Kendall Grange School Morisset NSW

The CCA’s decision allowed the appeal in part, quashing the findings of guilt on count 13 and said there was “reasonable doubt” that Slattery had committed the offence.

Despite this, it will not alter the total term of his 11 years sentence, with the quashed offence being served concurrently with other charges.

When sentencing Slattery in 2021, the court heard from the victims who told of the terror and pain of being raped and assaulted by the former brother who plied them with communal wine and sleeping pills while speaking of God and the bible.

Judge Syme said the boys at the school, run by the Hospitaller Order of the Brothers of St John of God, were told they would burn in Hell, be visited by the Angel of Death and never see their parents again if they told anyone about the abuse.

The court also heard police had difficulty getting material from the religious charity which had not been cooperative in their investigations.

A number of brothers at the school were also convicted of child sex abuse, and became part of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which had its final report in 2017.

A total of 41 formal complaints of abuse were lodged with the Commission, and since then, hundreds of boys have successfully sued the religious school.