School sued over prefect's sex abuse
A school where six boys were sexually abused by another pupil is facing legal action by one of the victims, it was confirmed tonight.
A civil action has accused the then board of governors at Campbell College, Belfast, which runs Cabin Hill Preparatory, of negligence and breach of duty.
A damning Government report which claimed mismanagement and inadequate response in dealing with the scandal, which did not emerge until years later, has cleared the way for legal proceedings at the Northern Ireland High Court.
It also involves the parents of the victim who was seriously sexually assaulted as a boarder in the school dormitories when he was 10.
His attacker, a prefect, was just three years older at the time, and during a six-month reign of terror between August 1992 and January 1993, five other boys were also abused. But it was not until 2002 that he was formally cautioned by police and placed on the sex offenders register.
Officers were called in by the father of the worst-affected victim after his son broke down as he underwent psychiatric treatment in May 1999.
He is now living in England.
His father said tonight: “We were forced to take legal action at the outset because the school refused to give us any information without us initiating legal proceedings.”
The then headmaster at the school, Chris Dyer, was also heavily criticised in the report which claimed that a lack of action may have harmed the six boys and their abuser. Mr Dyer retired in 1996 and later died.
The boarding department closed in October last year, which was the school’s 75th anniversary.
An inquiry team appointed by the Department of Education found there were multiple instances of serious sexual abuse affecting at least six boys.
Northern Ireland education minister Barry Gardiner said: “The report does not make comfortable reading and provides all who have a duty to safeguard and promote children’s welfare with much to reflect on.”
Professor Brice Dickson, head of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, said: “Hopefully, as a result of this case, schools and education authorities will be better equipped to prevent such sexual assaults in the future.”
