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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-11-15 Daily Xml
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MOUNTFORD, REV. J.

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (14:25): Can the Premier advise the house whether there has been any development in relation to the Mountford case?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:25): In August this year charges were dropped against the former St Peters College chaplain, the Reverend John Mountford, who had been extradited to Adelaide from Thailand last year on alleged child sex charges. The case was dropped when the victim of the alleged crime decided that he could not go through with the court trial for the sake of his family and his health. On leaving the country, Mountford made some outrageous comments about the victim, including calling him 'scumbag lowlife'. That was hardly the comment that you would expect from a Christian.

I said back in August, and I say it again about John Mountford, this is supposed to be a man of prayer, but you wonder who and what he really preys upon. I would like to see this man cross-examined in a court of law and, following this despicable outburst by Mountford, the alleged victim has written to me, thanking me for my public support of him. Subsequent to that, the victim has contacted my office asking that I read the contents of this letter to the parliament so that the public has the opportunity of having explained to them fully the reasons why he could not go through with the court trial.

Following legal advice and formal confirmation from the victim's solicitor, I have decided to accede to his request. The letter reads:

Dear Premier

I am the victim of St Peter's College Chaplain John Mountford. I wish to thank you for your public support for his prosecution for the sexual abuse he inflicted upon me while I was a student at the college in the early 1990s. I also wish to thank, through you, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Stephen Pallaras, QC, and his staff, particularly Mr Adam Kimber, Ms Emma Wildman and Ms Caroline Steel and the SA Police Paedophile Task Force, especially Ms Ingrid Olfacias, Ms Melanie Jones and Mr Scott Bowen.

You all have shown great faith in me and I appreciate everything you tried to do to bring Reverend Mountford to justice, including his extradition from Thailand and subsequent prosecution in the District Court. Thank you all for never doubting that the abuse took place. As you would be aware, the criminal proceedings placed me and my family, especially my mother, father and grandmother, under great stress through intrusive questioning by his defence lawyers about our personal lives and motives for wanting Reverend Mountford brought to trial.

In the end, I decided to withdraw my complaint against Reverend Mountford to protect my family from any further anxiety or distress I could not guarantee them that I would survive the trial, given my deteriorating mental health. I now wish to move on with my life, which has been dramatically affected by the abuse I suffered as a young boy and pupil at one of South Australia's so-called 'best' schools. Reverend Mountford last week publicly attacked me which I find despicable, considering that I am a victim of his depraved conduct. I assure you, Reverend Mountford is a paedophile who had a history of preying on young naive boys such as me for his own personal pleasure and gratification.

I know for certain that I was not the only student he abused at St Peters College and that there are others he groomed and took advantage of. I unashamedly admit that my life went totally off the rails throughout my adolescence and young adulthood as a result of the abuse I suffered. I have had enormous difficulty in forming and maintaining relationships. One's first sexual experience should be special, not something forced upon you against your will. I turned to drugs to suppress memories; resorted to petty crime to survive and inflicted great pain on my family as I became unstable and depressed.

I am now proud to say that I recently admitted myself into a private drug rehabilitation program which I successfully completed and am now 12 weeks drug-free. Before my life became a downward spiral I, like other young people had aspirations. Mine was to be a commercial pilot and work for Qantas. Instead, I became deeply depressed whenever I recalled the events of what happened to me. I still feel dirty and ashamed and have attempted suicide on more than one occasion.

My decision to withdraw my complaint came after a discussion with my mother, who has been a pillar of support. In February, just days before the trial against Mountford was due to start, I could not cope with the thought of confronting him in court. I felt like I was going to be put on trial, not him, and it all became too much to me. I took an overdose of pills and spent several days unconscious in the intensive care unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

More recently, my mother told me that she would rather have me alive than see me take my life because of what I was facing from Reverend Mountford's lawyers. An examination of the court transcript will show you they have been relentless in trying to find incriminating information about me, including using private detectives. My family made a decision that we did not need a trial to know Reverend Mountford is guilty of abusing me and is a paedophile. Obviously without the trial proceeding there will always be unanswered questions about Reverend Mountford and his tenure at St Peters College.

For example, why the school condoned an openly and practising homosexual living on its grounds with a 27-year-old Balinese man; why they didn't investigate why one of his students was in a psychiatric hospital when he was sacked for sexually abusing another boy; and how former Archbishop Ian George and the school helped him leave the country so quickly, choosing not to report the incident to police until weeks later.

I hope that this letter helps to reassure you that there are many of us who deeply appreciate what you have done for those who have suffered at the hands of paedophiles like Reverend Mountford.

The alleged victim has signed a letter that came earlier in the year, and, through his lawyers has indicated that he is prepared for his name to be made public. I do not believe it is my role to do so. I just received information from his lawyers prior to coming into question time that he was, in fact, happy for his name to be made public, given the circumstances of the extraordinary attack made after the trial was aborted by Mr Mountford on this young person.

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