Teacher at Catholic school targeted boys
Accused Dunedin teacher killed himself in 1985 after confrontation
ACatholic school in Dunedin has been accused of a historic cover-up, after a teacher who sexually abused pupils for more than a decade took his own life when finally confronted, victims say.
Three men — all former pupils at St Paul’s High School in Rattray St — have told the Otago Daily Times the teacher, Ian Thompson, targeted pupils at the school in the 1970s and into the 1980s.
Two of his victims, Paul Klemick and Michael Haggie, agreed to go public about their experiences with Thompson, amid suggestions he abused at least 16 boys from the school.
“I think he was a predator. He just preyed on young boys who were very innocent,” Haggie said. If you need help immediately contact the police on 111.
If you are not ready to go to the police, more information on support and reporting sexual crimes can be found here:
● Police: police.govt.nz/advice/victims/victims-rape-or-sexualassault
● Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 ● Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP (4357) — available 24/7 ● For sexual assault support: rpe.co.nz
Haggie said he was abused daily by Thompson throughout his senior years at the school, beginning in 1971 when he was 15.
Klemick said his abuse started soon after he arrived as a 12-year-old in 1979, and continued throughout his four years at the school.
Both men said Thompson
targeted other boys too, and Klemick said he was once forced to perform sex acts on another boy while Thompson watched.
And, when Klemick finally confronted Thompson, the teacher, fearing his secret would be revealed, took his own life, Klemick said.
The school — which has since been replaced by the Catholic co-educational Kavanagh College — was at the time run by the Christian Brothers, a Catholic religious order.
The Christian Brothers had employed Thompson after he was forced out of a Marist Fathers seminary in the North Island, allegedly after affairs with other seminarians, a third pupil said. But, in the days following his death on January 15, 1985, staff at the school were told to keep quiet about any suggestion of suicide.
A former St Paul’s staff member, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the ODT there had been “considerable” unease among staff about Thompson’s behaviour and the nature of his death.
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