Too hard to extradite abuser nun; claims of flagstick rape and eating faeces

Too hard to extradite abuser nun; claims of flagstick rape and eating faeces

A SENIOR nun accused of brutal sexual and physical attacks on children at a Brisbane orphanage was not brought back from Britain to face trial because Queensland police thought it would be too difficult to extradite her, the Nazareth House victims' lawyer said yesterday. Melbourne solicitor Peter Cash, who represented the 17 victims who have received settlement payouts from the Catholic Church, said his clients wanted the nun, who was the central figure in many of the abuse claims, brought to Australia to face trial. Former Nazareth House resident Lizzie Walsh, now in her late 50s, has accused the nun of raping her with a flagstick and forcing her to eat faeces and rotting food. Ms Walsh and other victims have also accused the nun of brutally beating children, molesting them, rubbing their faces in urine-soaked sheets and jumping up and down on their bare feet. The nun, who was at the orphanage in the Brisbane suburb of Wynnum in the 1950s and 60s, later rose to a senior position in the Sisters of Nazareth in Britain. Mr Cash said inquiries he had made on the victims' behalf in 1999, with a view to having her brought back to Australia to face criminal proceedings, were unsuccessful because "Queensland police would not show any interest in extraditing her". __________ Read all "'Too hard' to extradite abuser nun," Kevin Meade, The Weekend Australian, Aug 31-Sep 1, 2002 Study more at: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/minilist.htm Ms Walsh, who received a $75,000 payout from the Sisters of Nazareth, said yesterday she was "disgusted" and disappointed with the failure to extradite the nun. "That woman has a lot of questions to answer," she said. "We wanted to see her in court, and we still do." Another Nazareth House victim, Bobbie Ford, said: "We just felt that was very very unfair. "We knew where she was, but we just couldn't touch her." A Queensland police spokeswoman said no efforts were made to extradite anyone from overseas "because of a lack of corroborating evidence" in the Nazareth House investigation. "But we urge anyone with any new information in this case to provide it to police," she said. The senior nun is one of four sisters who are still alive, according to the victims and their lawyer. Ms Ford said another one of the accused nuns was also in Britain, and two more were in Australia. The order's Melbourne-based regional superior, Sister Clare Breen, could not be contacted yesterday.