What Royal Commission revealed about past Geelong Grammar School headmasters
A Royal Commission revealed what past Geelong Grammar headmasters knew about sexual abuse at the school on their watch. See the full list here.
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What the Royal Commission revealed about past Geelong Grammar headmasters:
John Lewis (1980-1994)
Lewis allowed serial pedophile teacher Jonathan Harvey to remain at the school even though he knew there were allegations he sexually abused students in 1982 and 1986.
Lewis also did not report or investigate complaints against another pedophile staff member, Philippe Trutmann in 1989, dismissing it as “merely a word against another”.
Lister Hannah (1995-1999)
In 1997, Hannah made a settlement for $32,000 with a victim of sexual abuse by a teacher in 1980, despite the school being aware of the teacher’s past convictions for pedophilia. Knowledge of the teacher’s prior convictions were not disclosed to the victim.
Nicholas Sampson (2001-2004)
Sampson arranged for Harvey to retire a year early with a year’s salary after he heard of another claim against him in 2004. Sampson did not inform authorities and wrote to Harvey thanking him for being “a wonderful teacher”.
Robert John Bugg (1981 – 1993)
Bugg, a Highton campus master, was involved in the expulsion of a 14-year-old in 1989 who spoke to other boys about being sexually abused by Trutmann. The boy’s mother said Mr Bugg and his deputy Paul Claridge did not believe him and sent her a bill for the remainder of the school fees.
Stephen Meek 2004 – 2018
Meek sent cordial handwritten letters to Harvey after the full extent of his sexual abuse was known. In Meek’s time leading the school, victims of serial pedophiles were still given paltry $20,000 to $30,000 payouts – many of which were later overturned. He also apologised to survivors at the Royal Commission and brought in a raft of new child protection policies.
Geelong Grammar pedophile staff members
At the time of the Royal Commission, five former Geelong Grammar School staff members – Graham Leslie Dennis, John Hamilton Buckley, Stefan Van Vuuren, Philippe Trutmann and Jonathan Harvey – had been convicted of child sex offences.
The school’s former doctor for more than 30 years, David Brian Mackey, was charged with more than 20 indecent assault allegations from former students ranging from 1968 to 1989. Since then, many more have since been charged, or had abuse claims settled against them.
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