NI abuse victims set to give evidence

By The Press Association6th October 2014News Northern IrelandHistorical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, News Northern Ireland

The first alleged victims at a children’s home linked to rampant sex abuse are due to give evidence to a public inquiry later.

Rubane House in Northern Ireland is the subject of a government-ordered investigation into claims of historic physical and sexual attacks on boys.

It was run by the Catholic De La Salle order of brothers.

Between 1951 and 1985, around 1,000 children stayed at Rubane, near Kircubbin on the Ards Peninsula in Co Down – a voluntary home for boys aged between 11 and 16.

Around a fifth of residents claimed they suffered abuse ranging from watching boys in the showers for sexual gratification to rape or physical attacks, a lawyer for the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry has said.

Former Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) detective chief superintendent Eric Anderson has said sexual abuse was rampant.

Rubane was the subject of a police investigation in the 1990s, the inquiry panel was previously told. Three religious brothers were charged, but none convicted after their trials did not go ahead due to legal issues.

The probe was established by Northern Ireland’s power-sharing administration at Stormont and is sitting in Banbridge in Co Down.

It is chaired by former High Court judge Sir Anthony Hart and investigating what took place at 13 residential children’s homes run by religious orders, voluntary organisations and the state in the 73-year period up to 1995.

Around 200 former residents made abuse allegations about Rubane, 55 have come forward to the inquiry and the majority are expected to give evidence. Lawyers are to examine 40,000 pages of documents.