The first day of a Royal Commission has been held in Sydney today, investigating and shedding light on Knox Grammar school in Sydney and its sordid 30-year long history of alleged sexual abuse on students by eight teachers.
The prestigious private school in Sydney’s Northern suburbs has brought three new teachers under investigation – five teachers at Knox Grammar had already been charged with sexual abuse against Knox students. Graphic evidence was reported to the commission today, including claims of child pornography, oral sex acts, masturbation and genital fondling being forced upon students, according to the ABC.
Perhaps the most shocking development to emerge from the commission today was that the school allegedly did not inform police of any sexual abuse between 1970 and 2003. The upcoming weeks of the Commission bringing evidence to light at the public hearing was labelled a “dark time” by a spokesperson for the school. “The school owed a primary responsibility to those students and those
parents to keep them safe from this sort of thing and the school failed
to discharge that responsibility,” the spokesperson said.
A student who was allegedly abused by a teacher at the school will reportedly give evidence to the public hearing, claiming he described the school as a “pedophile ring” to a headmaster.
The father of a student who was also allegedly abused, Dr John Rentoul, told the commission today that his son David died from trauma-related causes and suffered PTSD after being abused by former Knox Grammar teacher Barrie Stewart. “I believe the school was more interested in protecting the reputation
of Knox than ensuring the safety and welfare of its students,” Dr Rentoul told the commission.
More on this public hearing to come.
Via SMH.
Lead image via Knox Grammar.
