College pays damages to sex abuse victim

A top Northern Ireland school has owned up to a failure to protect pupils from sexual abuse, it emerged today.

Campbell College has agreed to pay undisclosed damages to one victim attacked in the dormitory of its preparatory department, Cabin Hill, more than a decade ago, and to his family.

In an out of court settlement school chiefs also admitted to negligence in their supervision of the prefect who carried out the abuse and in their investigation of the case.

The father of 10-year-old Boy A, who was subjected to harrowing assaults, stressed his six year quest was never about cash.

He said: “If the amount of money involved was multiplied by a thousand we would give it all back to have our son the way he was before he went to Cabin Hill.”

The settlement was reached just before civil proceedings taken by the victim, now in his 20s, and his parents, was due to begin at the Northern Ireland High Court.

Earlier this year a British government report delivered a scathing report on the governors and senior staff at the fee-paying Cabin Hill in east Belfast.

An inquiry team appointed by the Department of Education found multiple instances of serious sexual abuse on at least six pupils.

The attacks were carried out by a dormitory prefect at Cabin Hill, which closed its boarding department in October last year, during 1992 and 1993.

Even though he was forced to confess, the report in January criticised the school’s inadequate response when few people were told what had gone on.

Boy A, who has attempted suicide as a result of his torment, and his family took two separate actions against the Board of Governors at the time of the abuse.

His father demanded urgent moves from the school to restore shattered trust.

In a statement he said: “We do not know which members of the Board of Campbell College were responsible for dealing with this matter on behalf of the School since 1999.

“But it is most certainly time for them to examine their consciences about how they have behaved in relation to our son and the other victims and decide whether or not as a consequence they have outlived their usefulness as effective members of the Board of Governors.

“Those other Governors who allowed a small group to take control of matters should recognise that as a result, massive damage has been done to the reputation of Campbell College and that a lot of pupils both past and present have been rightly very upset about this.

“They need to review the situation as a matter of urgency and take the appropriate steps to restore external confidence and trust in the Board of Governors forthwith.”

The family’s solicitors said justice had finally been done.

Ursula Burns of Belfast firm Donnelly and Kinder added: “One of their main aims was to ensure that no other child would be subjected to such abuse and that no other family would have to endure such pain.

“Hopefully the outcome of the statutory inquiry, and of these proceedings, will ensure that it is not possible for the situation that existed in Cabin Hill Preparatory School in 1992-93 to be repeated.”

In a statement Campbell College expressed sorrow at what had happened and stressed that it has been scrutinised by inspection teams.

It said: “We welcome this opportunity to make it clear that the College has always deeply regretted that the incident happened and also the manner in which it was dealt with at that time (1993).

“The College has reviewed all relevant policies and practices in the wake of this affair.

“These policies have now been in place for many years; they are continually being reviewed to ensure best practice, and have regularly been quality assured.

“The College believes that this settlement is in the interests of all the parties and hopes that it will help bring closure to the family concerned.”

Although the victim’s family recognised the settlement had spared them a court ordeal, they demanded public apologies from the headmaster and chairman of the board of governors.

His father said: “For years the public stance on behalf of the School was that our son was not sexually abused while in their care. That position is no longer tenable.”

The most important thing, he added, was that his son was still alive to witness the outcome.

“The issue in question has always been about a duty of care by the School Authorities, both to our son and to my wife and I as his parents.

“The settlement now gives our son the opportunity to move on knowing that at long last he has been believed. He has shown tremendous courage in facing up to what happened to him and we are immensely proud of him.”