Yesterday (Thursday 11thJune 2015) saw the long anticipated evidence of former Vice/Principle of Les Chenes residential School and former Education Director, Mario Lundy at the Jersey Child Abuse Inquiry.
Mr. Lundy is the subject of around 27 allegations of physical abuse by, in the region of, a dozen different alleged victims, which he strenuously denies and yesterday was his opportunity to defend himself against those allegations.
He spent the full day giving his testimony, although some of the evidence to back up parts of his testimony no longer exists so he will have to be taken at his word. He told the Inquiry that the punishment/discipline books/logs where incidents of punishment administered at Les Chenes, to the residents, was logged in these books and would demonstrate that a minimal amount of punishment was dished out.
The problem is that these books/logs were ordered to be destroyed by one of his successors at Les Chenes in 2002 which, as The Jersey Public Records Law was in place at the time, looks to be a criminal offence yet neither a criminal investigation, nor an internal investigation has taken place in order to hold this person to account. Indeed when Mr. Lundy became aware of the destruction of these records in 2008, as Director of Education, he did not see fit to order an investigation knowing he was apparently counting on them as evidence in his, and Les Chenes, defence. It’s still a mystery as to why anybody would want them destroyed and hopefully the Child Abuse Inquiry will be able to get to the bottom of it?
Present at yesterday’s Hearing was former Senator/Health Minister and Whistle-blower, Stuart Syvret, who, in the interview below, gives us his take on what he sees as the bigger news stories to come out of yesterday which were not reported by the State Media. In some cases have been reported by the State Media but with its own particular slant/agenda attached.
Although the BBC (rightly) gets a bit of a kicking in the interview, it has to be said, that, of late, its reporting has been a huge improvement on its previous (non) reporting. The same also has to be said of the JEP but alas the discredited, and disgraced, ITV/CTV’s (non) reporting remains as appalling as it always was during the entire Jersey Child Abuse Cover-Up.
We hope readers/viewers will be better informed as to some of the facts behind the stories you are(n’t) seeing in the State Media. We also hope that the Victims and Survivors, who have been to hell and (some) back after suffering the abuse and its effects will get some kind of justice and closure as a result of this Inquiry.