Clergyman abused girl as family sat in prayer
A former Catholic clergyman has admitted sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl in her home while her family sat in the same room, with their eyes closed in prayer.
Michael Beaumont was due to face a jury trial at the Auckland District Court yesterday but pleaded guilty to the historical indecent assault charge.
He stood holding his hands behind his back in the dock as the charge was read and he answered ‘‘guilty’’. Beaumont also admitted two more charges relating to touching two other girls, aged 12 at the time.
The case comes in the week following Pope Francis’ summit where he called for an ‘‘all out battle’’ against child abuse in the Catholic Church.
‘‘We are dealing with abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth.’’
Beaumont, a former Marist Brother, had been teaching and working in the Masterton community in the 1970s when he sexually abused the children.
According to court documents, Marist Brothers were highly respected and ‘‘went unquestioned’’ by parishioners.
Beaumont coached school sports teams and was involved in choirs and musical groups.
He was also invited into family homes. On one such occasion he was invited to a family dinner by members of his parish.
After dinner the family gathered in the living room to recite the Rosary. Their custom was to sit on the floor and hold hands while saying their prayers.
Beaumont sat on the sofa, overlooking the family, and invited a 9-year-old girl to sit next to him. While everyone had their eyes closed, Beaumont put his arm around the girl’s shoulder and then moved his hand under her pyjama top before slipping his hand into her pyjama pants.
‘‘The complainant did not understand what was happening and wished for her parents to look up,’’ the agreed summary of facts said.
When the prayer had finished, Beaumont removed his hand from the girl’s pants and rested it on her knee. The girl ran from the room and refused to eat supper with Beaumont.
The woman and her family had been expected to give evidence at Beaumont’s trial.
Instead, they were invited into court and sat in the public gallery as Beaumont pleaded guilty.
Judge Jonathan Down thanked the victim and her family for attending court.
‘‘The plea means you [the victim] do not have to go through the process of giving evidence. That is always destructive.
‘‘Some people like to think that to have your say and get it out in the open is healing, but it is actually a traumatic experience.’’
The judge said Beaumont’s guilty plea meant the victim and her family would not face crossexamination.
‘‘You have been vindicated and I hope this will make a difference in your life,’’ he told them.
The judge said there were two other victims of Beaumont who were both aged 12 at the time Beaumont abused them.
One of the girls was invited by Beaumont to join him at a concert in Wellington. He took her in his car over Remutakas but when they reached the peak of the range, he stopped the car.
Beaumont kissed the girl on the neck and tried to put his hand up her top.
‘‘The complainant felt unable to stop his actions or resist.’’
Beaumont also targeted another girl, again at her home.
Court documents said he would invite the girl to sit on his knee and then pretend to straighten out her clothes, but in the process, he would assault her.
Judge Down asked for a report to assess whether Beaumont’s home would be a suitable address for home detention. He is due to be sentenced next month.
When Beaumont was charged, in May 2018, he worked as a parttime administrative assistant at The Catholic Institute of Aotearoa New Zealand (TCI).
TCI director Gerald Scanlan said Beaumont ‘‘finished up’’ with his organisation at Christmas. He said the decision had nothing to do with Beaumont’s charges.
The TCI website last year said Beaumont worked part-time for the group and he worked parttime for the Auckland Diocese, both in support roles.
It said Beaumont was a member of a team fielding calls to the Family Violence Information Line, part of the ‘‘It’s not OK’’ campaign helping to increase awareness around family violence and abuse.
He was stood down from his roles after being charged.