Chaplain’s accuser in jail over drugs

The man accusing a King’s School chaplain of historical sexual abuse in Australia is a convicted criminal and former gang associate serving a lengthy jail term for trafficking A-class drugs.

But his lawyer has indicated the man’s life was derailed by the abuse he allegedly suffered, sending him on a destructive path of addiction and mental health problems.

The chaplain, Father John Goodwin, has taken leave from the exclusive Remuera boys’ school after legal proceedings were filed in Australia.

He “emphatically denies” the claims and has indicated he will cooperate fully with the proceedings.

The plaintiff, a man in his 30s, says Goodwin abused him 20 years ago at the prestigious Hutchins School in Tasmania, where Goodwin was chaplain for 10 years before taking up the position at King’s in 2008.

He claims Goodwin told him God would punish him and his family if he spoke up about the alleged abuse.

The Herald can reveal the former pupil was jailed after being convicted of serious drug trafficking charges.

They related to an organised criminal group which imported millions of dollars worth of illegal narcotics into Australia.

An investigation involving police, Customs and the Australian Border Protection Service led to the bust and the man sentenced to a lengthy term.

Supporters of Goodwin say he is innocent until proven guilty.

“Father John has an impeccable record and a huge amount of support from the King’s School community who know him to be a very good man,” one supporter told the Herald. “He has a family too, all of whom are suffering in light of these allegations.”

Court documents show the plaintiff is suing the Christ College Trust and the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania for damages. Lawyer Angela Sdrinis says her client suffered injury as a result of the alleged abuse.

He had been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder, suffered poly substance abuse and suicidal ideation, the court documents claim.

This is not the first sexual abuse scandal to rock Hutchins School.

The documents allege historical offending by other teachers, and say the school “ought to have known that priests and teachers had sexually abused minors prior to 2001”.

The documents say several Hutchins teachers were dismissed in the 1950s and 1960s for paedophilia.

They say police attended the school in 1970 after a report of a teacher engaging in “sexual misconduct with a minor”, and the teacher resigned and left the country.

In 2014, four ex-pupils spoke to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse about their time at Hutchins School.