The St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-Up

There are various references to St Martins Lutheran School, Mount Gambier, and how authorities have handled the situation throughout this blog, and surely many posts to come; it is this Cover-up of the abuse of an entire class of seven year old children that drove me into politics....language warning.

A Brief Chronology

Fifty (+) year old male teacher Glyn Dorling moved (was moved by the Lutherans) to Mt Gambier in the late 1990's to be employed at St Martins after he was "sacked" (Senior Lutheran Barry Kahl) from a Lutheran school in Adelaide "after less than a week" (BK); Mr Kahl claimed to be the headmaster who "sacked" him.

Complaints about his behaviour started in his first week, eg, closed doors and blinds in a room separate to the main school, and I am aware of at least one families attempt to sue the school/Dorling, which the school vehemently defended. I do not know what ultimately happened, but Dorling was still there in 2002.

The Lutherans put my child in a classroom with Glyn Dorling knowing full well that he would abuse those children; it wasn't sudden, unfortunate, and un-avoidable, they had years of incidents and complaints...bastards....absolute bastards. 

Glyn Dorling was pulled from the class in first term 2002 for several days of 'training/counselling' because of his bullying behaviour toward a student, but parents weren't told and he was immediately returned  to the classroom unsupervised.

On Friday 7th June 2002 numerous parent complaints led to a lunchtime meeting between Headmaster John Alexander and some of those parents; school staff/employees had been telling parents about concerns with Dorling's behaviours toward the children.

There was another meeting at the school on the Sunday 9th June, where it was stated that two children had made specific disclosures to their parents, but John Alexander repeatedly asked parents to let the school deal with it "internally" and "not go to police".

I was doing 'BBQ' volunteer work for a function at the school on the Friday 8th and saw Mr Alexander immediately either side of the meeting but he did not tell me about it nor was I contacted about the Sunday meeting; parents only found out via other parents.

The Teachers Registration Board (and Crown Solicitors Office) 'Reasons For Decision' document November 2004, quotes Glyn Dorling thus;
          "Mr Dorling said he was unaware of any concerns by parents...until Friday 7 June 2002,
           when he had a discussion after school with Mr Alexander...Mr Dorling said he was asked
           by Mr Alexander to take leave but refused to do so. He said that subsequently on the
           evening of Sunday 9 June 2002 at his home he was visited by his Pastor John O'Keefe,
           and the Principal. Mr Dorling said he was advised that matters had been reported
           to Police by a parent. In the event, Mr Dorling said he did not attend at school on
           11 June 2002 but remained on paid leave."   (TRB/CSO RFD page 25)

I highlighted that sentence because that act of John Alexander and John O'Keefe, telling Dorling that he had been reported to SAPol, is a specific, definable Criminal Offence that South Australian authorities have flatly refused to acknowledge let alone address....bastards.

When I found out on the Sunday evening from a parent that these meetings had happened and that Dorling had been "removed" from the class, I was immediately sceptical about the 'abuse' because of the group of vicious gossipers involved in that class; I was actually concerned it was all a 'witch-hunt'.

I rang John Alexander repeatedly on the Monday and eventually caught him around noon, when he said that he was not going to police and that he had not notified all parents with a child in the class, nor was he going to, so as "to avoid a panic". He stated that Dorling would be doing volunteer work at St Martins' office, immediately adjacent the kindy and I tried to talk him out of it.

It was the manner and attitude of his response that convinced me immediately that something had happened, and that it was not good; John Alexander only did a Mandatory Notification after finding out that several parents had. 

Earlier, unable to contact John Alexander, I did a phone Mandatory Notification (as a volunteer at the school I was obliged under MN guidelines even if it wasn't my child or in the class, etc) and then had attended Mt Gambier Police Station,with another parent, but we were turned away with the excuse that our MN meant the "system now knew" and they'd "be in touch".

On the Tuesday 12th June many parents dropped their kids off and left, completely unaware that Glyn Dorling had been 'removed' and why that had happened; St Martins later put in the school newsletter that he was "on sick leave".

Some parents didn't know for weeks what had happened until their children mentioned it, and even today there are some parents who remain convinced that I'm the problem (and a couple of other families) because the Lutherans have relentlessly pursued the 'Dorling was just giving the kids a Christian cuddle' defence.

The Lutherans organised for Elizabeth Young, who identified herself as a Child Adolescent Mental Health Service employee, to be at the school at 9am on the Tuesday, where she openly described Dorling as "a grooming paedophile", but then told us to "just let it go" because "nothing's going to happen".

When we tried to complain about her behaviour to the local CAMHS office the next day, they refused to accept it, stating that she was there as a personal favor to the Lutherans not as a CAMHS employee.

The Lutherans clearly had a well thought-out strategy for dealing with the abuse situation once it had effectively been exposed; lie, deceive, threaten, deny, and blame parents.

Clearly the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up commenced when Glyn Dorling was moved away from "an incident" in Adelaide (Barry Kahl) to St Martins in Mt Gambier, and as I say, the Lutherans knew exactly what they were doing when they put my child in a classroom with that man, so once more with vengeance I mean feeling...bastards.  

The SMLSCAC Part 2 (as such) tomorrow, then on Thursday, The First Time I Met: MP Rory McEwen...bastard...sorry...sorry...BASTARD...sorry...sorry...I've turned and "it ain't perrty" (The Mighty Boosh - BBC TV).

Strange thing is that it seems the harder I go on the Child Abuse issue, as horrendous as it all is, the easier I find it to resist that relentless sense of failure that I have identified previously*; that I have failed my child, every child in that specific class, every child Glyn Dorling abused upto June 2002, and every child he has abused since.

It is absolutely ludicrous to think he just suddenly stopped; after years of complaints against him, in the TRB/CSO hearing Dorling blamed the children; research for yourself the behaviours of an un-repentant, recidivist (repeat offender) "Text-book grooming paedophile" (how Flinders Child Protection Services described Dorling to me in August 2002).

And we're only up to the weekend Glyn Dorling was sacked, only 10 years to go.

Tomorrow: The Teachers Registration Board Hearing - March 2003 to November 2004

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