For months, he was a presence in the back of courtrooms, often alone in the public gallery, as former Dilworth staff were called into the dock to face sexual abuse charges.
Steve Brown, formerly Dilworth Old Boys’ Association president, attended many court hearings as abusers sometimes sought to keep their names secret or contest the charges.
As he kept track of the cases in the school sexual abuse scandal, Brown said he attended mostly to show his support for abuse survivors.
Brown said he was often at odds with some in the school establishment as the scale of abuse became clearer and calls for justice louder.
He said the school for far too long was obsessed with money and reputation, to the detriment of survivors.
And today, a damning independent review into historical sexual offending at Dilworth found the school repeatedly did nothing to stop abuse or bring perpetrators to account.
Brown said the report proved the school covered up abuse, covered for abusers, and created a situation where generations of boys were left with shattered lives.
He said questions remained about whether Dilworth would offer redress and meaningfully engage with survivors.
“They need to be heard.”
NZ Herald
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