Chapter 9 — Record of abuse (female witnesses)

Reported abusers

The above table shows that 144 (77%) of those identified as sexual abusers were non-staff members, 79 of whom were external to, but associated with, the Schools. They included holiday and work placement providers, relatives and friends of people in those placements, external clergy and clerical students, professionals, and ex-residents. Nineteen (19) other individuals were identified as members of the general public and witnesses’ family members who abused them while on leave from the School. Twenty nine (29) named abusers were reported by 37 witnesses from two Schools. Sixty five (65) other named abusers were each reported by between five and nine witnesses from 10 Schools. Thirty eight (38) named abusers were each reported by between one and four witnesses from 19 Schools.

The most frequently reported group of adult sexual abusers were members and relatives of families to whom residents were sent from the Schools for either a holiday, weekend or work placement. These were known as ‘holiday’, ‘weekend’ or ‘foster’ families or ‘godparents’. There were 42 men and two women identified by the female witnesses as sexually abusive in these circumstances. It was consistently stated that the religious Sisters in charge of the Schools arranged the placements, visits or holidays, most often without consultation with the resident being placed. It was stated that these placements were generally arranged for residents who did not have their own families to visit during the school holidays. Witnesses consistently reported that there was little or no supervision or follow-up by staff from the Schools in relation to these placements.

Twenty three (23) witnesses reported being sexually abused by the fathers of families to whom they were sent for weekends or holidays. The Committee heard 13 reports of witnesses being sexually abused, by male relatives in seven instances and by sons of the families with whom they were placed in six other instances. Two (2) witnesses reported being raped by both the adolescent son and a friend in their holiday placement. In both of these instances the witness was less than 12 years old at the time. I remember going back in the car, he ...(father in holiday family)... stopped and said to me “if you tell anyone ...(about sexual abuse)... I will tell the priest it was your fault”. This is the hold they had over you, you were petrified. The nuns wouldn’t believe you. I told Sr ...X... once and she beat me black and blue with a hand brush, she said “you are a terrible liar” and what a good family they were. O God, I can’t even talk about it, I feel sick ...distressed.... I couldn’t sleep at night it was on my mind for a long time. I went to that family every month until I ...(left the School)... even after I had told Sr ...X....

Thirteen (13) witnesses reported being sent by School staff to particular weekend and ‘holiday’ families where they were repeatedly raped or sexually assaulted, despite a number indicating to staff that they did not want to go. Some witnesses complained to the religious Sisters in the School that they did not like going to a particular family where they were being sexually abused and reported that they were not sent again. Other witnesses were told they should be grateful to the family for their kindness and continued to be sent.

Witnesses also reported the practice of residents being sent by staff in the Schools to mind children and do housework for families during school holidays and being sent out to work for local families and clergy in the afternoons and at weekends. Twelve (12) men, including one member of the clergy, were identified as sexually abusive by witnesses in this context. All the witnesses reported being less than 16 years old at the time they were abused. The abuse reported included rape and attempted rape, digital penetration, molestation and genital exposure. One witness reported that she was hospitalised having taken an overdose of tablets in the context of repeated rape by the father of the family in her work placement. The family were professionals and made discreet arrangements for her to be hospitalised, following which the sexual abuse ceased although she continued to be sent to the family. She reported she had told the religious Sisters she did not like going to this family but they insisted she continue. I think they were very, very stupid, the people in the care home. We were very unhappy going out and they should have known that. I feel very, very angry with them.

Two (2) witnesses reported being sent at different times as the live-in housekeeper for a local member of the clergy who was identified by name. They both described being fondled by him, bringing him breakfast in bed and being forced to observe him washing and dressing himself. One witness refused to go back to his house after she woke to find him standing over her in bed one morning. Witnesses said that this member of the clergy had a reputation for inappropriate sexual behaviour and he was named in three other witness accounts of sexual abuse.

Five (5) witnesses reported being sexually abused during the night by male employers in work placements, two of whom reported being raped in these circumstances. Others described attempted rape or did not describe the sexual abuse in detail. I was working looking after the children. One time the mother had gone away. She was very nice, he... (work placement father)... was horrible.... One time she left me looking after the children. I was in bed he ...(work placement father)... came to me in to bed, I was asleep and he woke me up, and took me to his room ...crying.... I didn’t know why, I didn’t know what he was trying to do, he tried to rape me.... I was so scared, I was terrified. I couldn’t tell anyone, there was this threat of being sent to ...named laundry....

There were 31 male and female religious, including a clerical student and a novice, reported as having sexually abused witnesses during their time in Schools. Twenty seven (27) named Sisters and clergy were each identified by individual witnesses as perpetrators of sexual abuse, four others were named by more than one witness. The Sisters were all members of the Schools’ religious Communities. The clergy included priests and others of higher rank from the external community who had contact with the Schools in various capacities. The types of contact sexual abuse reported included vaginal and anal rape, oral/genital contact, masturbation, kissing and inappropriate fondling and touching.

Witnesses reported being sexually abused by 16 nuns, 10 of whom were named. The abuse included contact sexual abuse such as kissing, fondling and vaginal penetration by an object. Sexual abuse by religious Sisters was most often reported to have occurred in collaboration with another person, either religious or lay staff, in the context of personal care and preparing for bed. Four (4) witnesses also described separate instances of inappropriate fondling by Sisters. ‘At night she would come to the bedroom, stroke my breasts, and then give me a packet of biscuits and say something like it was all temptation from the devil.’

Fourteen (14) clergy, 11 of whom were named, were reported by 23 witnesses to have sexually abused them. The reported abuse ranged from inappropriate touching and fondling to vaginal and anal rape. Two (2) of the clergy were each named by five witnesses as perpetrators of sexual abuse, both of the witnesses and their co-residents. One of the priests was described as ‘thinking he owned the convent and us girls’ as a witness described: He was always there ...(Fr X)... when we were getting a bath, he was there all the time. I could see what he was doing to other girls, touching them. Nobody wanted to bring his breakfast in, none of the girls. We used say it to Sr ...Y... she was a nice nun, she would have protected us from the other nuns, she was a lovely nun. But she couldn’t see past Fr ...X... because he was a priest. We said to her what he was doing and she said “but he is a priest, he is just being friendly”. I rebelled against him then when I was I2 or 13, I fought him and wouldn’t let him go near me. He beat me then with a leather, a belt from his trousers ... on the legs, on the hand and the back of the hands.

Six witnesses reported being sexually abused when they were serving breakfast to visiting priests in the parlour. One priest was reported to have his breakfast in the parlour and ‘sent for girls every morning’. A witness described the priest as sitting her on his lap, where he fondled her, kissed her on the lips and gave her money saying ‘you’re a good girl’. This witness reported that the priest was attended at mealtimes by residents ‘who he fondled constantly’, kissing, and touching them. Other witnesses provided the following accounts of being sexually abused by local and visiting priests: The parish priest used to be always around at the time, around the convent. He used to pick me up in the grounds or if you went in to him with his breakfast, he would put you sitting on his knee and give you a kiss on the mouth. He would put me sitting on his ...(genitalia).... • There was a visiting priest, Fr ...X... he used to come in holiday time and say Mass. I had the job of polishing the sacristy, I had to peep in to see if he was gone. He called me in. He was a tall man, he called me over, I had to kneel next to him, the next thing I could feel his hand up under my underwear. I nearly died, I thought “Jesus what will I do?” I couldn’t tell anyone. They were Gods, the priests were God, no one would believe you. I was about 11.

Three (3) female witnesses reported being fondled and kissed by a clerical student and a Novice who were on placement in their respective Schools.

Witnesses reported 29 lay care and ancillary staff, 17 male and 12 female, as sexual abusers. Fourteen (14) of those reported were lay care staff, including childcare workers and 15 were ancillary workers. The 14 lay care staff were identified by name; 12 were female and two were male. Six (6) of the female care staff were described as former residents of the School who had been retained as live-in care staff.

Twenty five (25) lay staff, 11 care staff and 14 ancillary workers, were the subject of single witness reports of sexual abuse. Four (4) other lay staff were each the subject of more than one report; one care staff member was reported as sexually abusive by six witnesses and two others were each reported by two witnesses. One ancillary worker was also reported by two witnesses.

The most commonly reported form of sexual abuse described in relation to this group of lay care staff was masturbation and fondling. Witnesses reported at times being taken out of their beds to warm a staff member’s bed, where they were then sexually abused. Others reported being inappropriately fondled on the pretext of checking if they had wet their beds. One witness reported that she was sexually abused on a regular basis by a childcare worker as he drove her to school. The abuse involved fondling and forcing her to masturbate him. The following account refers to one witness’s abuse experience during the 1980s: Every night he ...(lay care staff)... used to come up to the room, there were 3 girls in it, and he used to come up to the room every night and absolutely insist that he would put Sudocreme on us. There was absolutely no reason for it, down with the knickers and all, he insisted on doing it to every one of us.