|
Allegations of Sexual
Abuse |
|
News Reports 2004 |
|
A new sex scandal has surfaced in
the Catholic Church, with a former priest acknowledging he sexually abused a
teenager in the '70s. Police are also investigating an allegation he had sex
with another teenager. Wairarapa woman Sam (formerly
Ann-Marie) Shelley, 48, was paid $25,000 compensation by the church last July
after she spoke about the abuse she suffered at the hands of former Sacred
Heart Lower Hutt school chaplain Peter Hercock in the '70s. She alleges she
was sexually abused by Hercock, then talked into having sex with him when she
was 18. Shelley received apology letters
from Hercock and Wellington Archbishop Cardinal Thomas Williams. Williams
said from the interviews and reports he could "understand something of
the anguish you have suffered over many years as the result of Peter
Hercock's sexual misconduct" and was "deeply saddened by the
cruelty you endured at the hands of some religious teachers". In another letter from Williams to
Shelley about Hercock's interview with the protocol committee, Williams
states: "The interview with Peter Hercock gave him the opportunity to
deny the truth of the complaint or accept it. In the event Peter Hercock
admitted his guilt." The Catholic Church confirmed it
had received three complaints about Hercock's alleged sexual misconduct. One
complaint was from Shelley, one has been settled and another is still being
investigated. The church would not disclose further details. Last year police received
complaints from two women who had earlier complained to the church, one of
whom was Shelley. The other complainant claims
Hercock had sex with her while he was counselling her at Detective Shane Dye, formerly of
the Wellington Child Abuse team, said police were unable to pursue charges
because of the restrictions of the Crimes Act. Dye said investigations were
ongoing and police would be speaking to Hercock. Dye said after discussions
with the complainants, he was made aware of other potential victims. Hercock left the priesthood in
1981. He has since married, lives in Nelson and is listed as the Nelson
branch president of the management-focused New Zealand Organisation for
Quality. In 1991, Hercock went into an
administrative role at a Nelson school. The director of the school, which the
Sunday Star-Times agreed not to name, said the school became aware of
allegations of sexual misconduct in 1993. Hercock left the school at the end
of the first term that year. "When the allegations came to
light at the beginning of his last term until he left, the school took
immediate and rigorous steps to ensure a safe environment for the
students," said the director. There was nothing to indicate anything
untoward happened during the time. Approached by the Star-Times,
Hercock showed remorse for his actions towards Shelley and said he stood by
his apology letter to her. After receiving legal advice, Hercock said he
would not comment further nor respond to the other allegations. Shelley, who began seeing Hercock
for counselling at the age of 14, told the Star-Times she had suffered for
many years as a result of Hercock's conduct. "We all (the victims) had
issues around feeling isolated, feeling different from other people, feeling
unloved, needing attention, needing someone to listen. We were vulnerable
before we even got there. Counselling took place in the sick bay upstairs at
the school, the door was shut, it was tucked away. His method was to work at
it really slowly. He would listen. Suddenly there was this person who would
listen and, not only that, but believe the things we had to say," she
said. "I trusted him completely.
The touching didn't start until the fifth form. Like a rub on the back,
benevolent touching - then he moved onto the next stage of touching so subtly
that you almost didn't notice. The rub on the back would take longer, a tap
on the thigh would move to a long rub down my thigh. It moved from harmless
to harmful so quickly." Shelley said Hercock encouraged
her to turn against her parents, swear and talk about sex. She said he would
get erections when she talked about sex. After she turned 18, while Hercock
was living in the Wainuiomata presbytery, Shelley claims Hercock got her
drunk and talked her into having sex with him there. Shelley has received therapy to
help her deal with the abuse. She first laid her complaint to the Wellington
Sexual Abuse Protocol Committee for the Church in 2002. Last year she laid a
complaint with the police. "I expected not to be
believed. I expected to achieve nothing. But they (the protocol committee)
had read the complaint thoroughly and virtually one of the first things they
said was 'we believe you' and the weight of it all just shifted completely. "For a long time I believed
that there couldn't possibly be a God because if there was a God, how could
things like this happen? When I was really little I used to love sitting in
the church with the ritual and the ceremony, the swish of the robes, the
smell of incense but when I felt so dirty and tainted I couldn't bear to be
around any of those things. "But now I've come to realise
that all those feelings of being dirty and tainted and revolting actually don't
belong to me. All the guilt and shame and the blame lie squarely with
him." A summary of the protocol
committee's interview with Hercock reveals he attended a year-long sexual
offenders treatment programme and attended regular counselling. In his apology letter, Hercock
said through his counselling he had learnt "about my level of immaturity
at 25, my arrogance, my lacks in awareness and concern for the vulnerability
of people in need, and the power of the role of priest". "Over the last 30 years I have
wondered what it must have been like for you to have come to me as a priest,
trusting me, seeking help, understanding and direction - especially when you
were young and vulnerable. Clearly I broke that trust and misused my position
of power when I crossed boundaries without regard for the consequences,"
the letter said. Catholic Communications
spokeswoman Lyndsay Freer said Hercock was ordained in 1969 and voluntarily
left the priesthood in 1981. She said when the first complaint
was received, church records were checked but there was no record of any
previous complaints about Hercock |