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CATHERINE ANN PARSONS

STATES:

I ~m a married woman currently employed Geelong Grammar School's Kenn Me 'c campus near Mansfield. I reside at contacted by telephone at home on

liml- My email is ·

HJGHTON CAMPUS

GEELONG

21ST JUNE 2005 (interview)

WITHOUT PREJUOfCe

as e Casual Registered Nurse at e t e Co · d a t e Timbertop

I can be or on rny mobile phone 'M''f '@'f

In January 1988 I was appointed "Matron" at Geelong Grammar School's Highton Campus. It wss .a live-In position and-I was required to work from 2 p.m. each. W~nesday until 3 p.m. on the following Monday. t then had. my break period of 47 hours before resuming my normal duties as Matron.

My role as Matron of Highton Campus was a combined one. I was UHouse Mother" to the boarders, bo~rs and girls aged between 7 years and 14 years which involved everything from homesickness to laundry and housekeeping matters, Apart from my role within the boardjng house I was also the school nurse for the entire Highton campus. This involved first aid treatment, maintaining immunisation status, maintaining medical records, organising medical appointments, accompanying children to medical professionals if they were boarde~. tiastng with parents and staff, health eoucation etc etc.

PHILLIP TRUTMANN

Wtwn J took 1,1p my appointment as Matron of Highton Campus in January 1988, Phillipe Trutmanri was already living within ihe Boarding House. I understood he was a student attendi11g the nearby Deakin University in his final year of a teaching degree. Trutmann had a rota- as an Assistant at tlhe Boarding House. He was one of about 4 assistants that lived on campus. The others were more typical 11gapnstudents and ware mostly 17~18 year olds.

I found Trutmann to be a very unusual young man. We were a similar age when We met in 1988. I was 24 and he was about 26. He struck me a~ unusual as he had absolutely no soc.~al life beyond Geelong Grammar. He did not seem to have any regular contaot with his family who lived near ~at li1!EI In the 3 years we

. lived in the boarding house·I wasn'-t-awtire of-ffiOOl"'e'Ver Visitiii'9or phoning. He.had ~n a jt.mior day boy at the school when his Dutch family came to Australia to work with. Shell and w~1re based at Corio. I was never aware of any friendships other than with boarding house colleagues and one of the day teachers_, Daryl Moorfoot. He always gave the crnpression of private personal wealth almost like he was a trust fund kid and this was just where he wanted to be for the moment.

He was liked despite being an oddity. and rather dull and insular. J think the fact he worked hard and was so thorough with the children made him popular with the House Masters and the duty staff. He would organise the children well and he was extremely de~able. He became indispensable. . .

WITNESS: ,,&7;.;EM SIGNED: C.A. PAF(SONS /) • 0 I A~~ t1L l(J<~ A Q -· ·· ·-- -· ... . ····- ·· ·· -·- ·· --

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Philippe Trutmann lived in a room within the Boarding House at the junction of the two boys corrido1s on the upper level.

The job of as an .assistant, living within the boarding house was, as I understood it, someone who W<:>rked under the direction of the Housemaster, Matron or duty staff. i.e. staff that di.dn't reside in the boarding house but were academic staff who did a day a week of boarding house duty and occasional weekends. An assistant would help with getting the children up in the rnornings, to breakfast, to school and assist with room inspection. Most assistants worked at the school during the day helping the academic staff. Philippe was an exception as in 1988 he was at Deakin and then r -think the following year he was employed by a plaster company in Geelong where he worked until he was arrested earlier this year. Duties such as supervising meals, evenin9 prep, sup~r, teeth cleaning etc were all things assistaints were expected to do. They were also required to help put the children to bed • During weekends they were a pivotal part of helping to entertain the children usually c1rganising sport such as tennis, bike riding, footy, etc. Trutmann as an assistant during my time there did all of the above.

FURTHER DISCIJSSJONS

Prior to the beginning of Term 3 in 1989, I recall receiving no complaints from children or their parents/guardians regarding Philippe Trutmann or his activities with any of the boarde.irs. He appeared to be well liked by the boys as he would help 1hem fix their bicycles, let them use his computer and camera etc. However, at the beginning of Tenn 3 in 1989, early one morning a young Iraqi boy,

IBKN lwtiose parents lived in Canberra, came to my room, bringing with him _ w boarder, who had only arrived at the Boarding House a few days previously.

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BKN totcl me that the other boy, whom I can only identify by his initials of s1w ad tot him thsit something "weird" had happened to him during the night.

BKN ad told ttie boy to come to talk to me as I should know about it.

The boy, whom I cannot recall fully by name, other than by his initial$ o~s I recently found thnm in a diary, was aged approximately 12 or 13 years oTcITrom memo I think h~~ ma have b~en one of a twin and previously a da,y boy at~

. I thinlt he was from a single parent home where ffewas care or y 1s mo er. e was tearful and anxious. I asked him what was wrong.

He tofd me that he was nearly asleep when a shadow appeared at his bedroom door. ·'It was ·a sin1;Jle To·om in ·the-upper corridor and ·he was alone: The shadowllien · entered his room and put a hand under his doona and began touching his penis. He rolled over to the wall to try and get the person, whom he couldn't identify, to go away and leave him alone. Whoever was molesting him then left the room and the boy had remainecf awake all night, only notifyinglBKN ff what had occurred at about 6 am.

jsiw !told me he thought the shadow was a male and with curly hair. The brief description could have iitted the new Head of Boarding House, Tony lnkster, as well as Phillip Trutmennn. From my memory they were the only males present in ~the boarding house o .~t night . n_Y . · . L. '9UJu,,""'-"\. ~~ WITNESS: 1.L. DERSTREM SIGNED: C.A. PARSONS

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Affer receiving ·Ihis information from the boy, I obviously couldn't notify Tony Jnkster who I was directly responsible to, so I immediately telephoned the Deputy Head of Highton Campus, Paul Claridge at his home. After notifying him of 1he incident he said he would c:all the Master of Highton , John Bugg, and phone me back. I do recall asking about notifying the police and was told not at this stage. Paul Claridge phoned me bee~< straight away and r was asked to drive~1w J o the home of John Bugg which was on campus.

EW'land I were met by Mr Bugg at his front door and shown into his sitting room where Mr Cl~ was already present. f stayed wit~W p he refayed wliat had happened to him during ihe night to Mr Bugg and Mr Claridge.He gave an identical account of what had happaned to him during the nighn as he had relayed to me earlier. I estimate I wa~resent for about Ya an hour and 1h1;m I was asked to leave as they wanted to talk to s1w her. By this stage the convfm~ation had turned from one of listening to wha(s1w d said happened to challenging his version of events, motives, credibfnty anti honesty.

I received a phone call from someone, I don't recall who, asking the ho'Usekeeper, Margaret Dale, and me to pack the boy's room up and have his bags ready for collection by hi:s mother. That he was leaving the school and that he was to be collected from the campus by 3 p.m. prior to the other students returning to the boarding housei. J reciall the mother -arriving a~ the boarding house, most distressed and very angry. She threatened to go to the media vJith the story. My diary indicates the date of the Fncidentwas the 22nd August 1989.

There were no ·other reported similar incidents during my period of employment. However, on se1veral occasions it was discussed during Boarding House meetings and also irrfonnally with both Housemasters that Philippe Trutmann wasn't following accepted procedures of never being in a room alone with a child with a closed door. Truttnann on sc:iveral occasions was found by duty staff either tickling boys backs or giving bacl< rub:s to boys Jn their darkened bedroom, al times with the door closed. This was brought up at staff meetings and we were all reminded by both Housemaster.s 110 never be in that situation. It was termed fue open door policy. Everyone 'V'r'tlO worked witMn th~ boarding house was fully aware never to put themselves in a: compromising situation. I remained as M~tron of rtighton Campus until December 1990. I then transferred to the Tlmbertop campus near Mansfield . I worked there as a full time R.N. in 1991~1992, terrn 3in19941996,1997 and as.a casual R.N. in 2004and 2005.

SIGNED: C.A. PARSONS WITHOUT PREJUDICE

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tNFORMATIOM RlEl..ATU~G TO ._16

_1H ___ _

BIH as a boarder at Highton from a e 7. He started the year before I arnvea II) 1987~ He was 'the child of · and the Grandson of illi1 IH'flllboth o·f Middle Parle His fat er was un nown to the family. -

BIH ---, s mothetr was mentally unwell ~n-~ had problems with substance abuse. His gran mother, • • ~ had cared forlBIH Jfrom birth. From the age of about 8, his cou sins • • · nd a Played a greater role in his life and eventually were app6 n e · is gua rans as · became increasingly unwell.

Philippe Trut~mn spent a lot of time wit BIH ~_ji;ippeared to like Philippe very mt1ohfBiHWas the most attractive, e n 1 e, engaging child. We all loved him. He wa.Thlgnfy spirited, often naughty and a lot of fun.

As the years w1mt o~BIH :ended up getting info trouble with the teachers at Highton and it ~vas thougm oetter he have a change of scene and go to Corio.· I know he didn't get along with his house master Mr Rice and the move there was a bit of a disaster. He ihEm went to Glamorgan the GGS campus in Melbourne. He lived with his elderly Grandmother then. ·

At some stage while BIH ~s living with his Grandl'l'loth~r she phoned me .to tell me of an Incident concerning Trutmann. I was living in Camperdown and not connected 10 the school but Mrs lni•t:£•L*had continued to keep in regular contact. On 'One occasic1n in desperation skeAtf driven;s1H f nd his psychologist to my home to try ancl sort out a way forward for him. ,_ _ _,

On this occasion she teleQhoned me to sat H y ould not come out of his bedroom. He hi;id been to!iliElwith Philip ror me long weekend and had returned extremely distms-oed. PT !1'ad<!ropped him oif in Canterbury Rd, Middle Park, at the

mDI home BIH had gone straight to his room refusing to tall~ to his ~mother. · e en was heeird to be very distressed in his room, still refu$ing to

come out and yelling that he was never ever going anywhere with Trutmann again .•. . 1hat n9 one could make him etc etc.

I urged his Gre11dmo1her to infOrm the school.

t am unclear of the seq1,1ence of events but sometime around this weekend at~ f H left Glamorgan. This was prior to his Timbertop year he had always lo~g~~ and would havE~ bean ideally suited ~o. He wovld have been in Year 8 aged around 14. He became a male prostitute In St. Kilda and was involved in illicit drug use. He

-wae 'Well· Known to the police· and had· a stint'in a ~ooth refomrnentre: ·

· .... • . BIH In about September 1985 I received a phone call from saying.__~_, · had died during! the night of a heroin overdose in his G n mo er apartmen . e was t5 ye~rs old. I immediately pho11ed · and asked If there was anything I could do. She said ttte same t m9 as · had. H?Jh asked me to ensure that Philippe Trutmann was not present erai. ~ • · had indicat~ that her, by "l extremely frail, aunt.would murder Trutmann ~:..c '(~W

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So I phoned Tr.utmann at Geetong Gt~mmar and told him that BIH had died of an overdose. We did not speak for long but I told him quite clearly that BIH s funeral was for family c1nly.

I was at the funeral service in South Melbourne when I was alerted by someone that Trutmann was 1~rossing the road. 1 went outside and waited while he crossed Clarendon St. l'l was obvious to him that the chapel was overftowing with Geekmg Grammar staff , He looked at me quizzically and I just held my hand up and said Philippe you can't come in. He gave me a wreath of flowers and walked back to his car.

Later that afternoon at her home Trutmann at th<~ funeral. She sai t en t BIH had never been the same since going to li!i7Swith T n.1trnann. It was clear · o me at~hought Trutrnannnad"Tnistreated her grandso~BIHsa Jin the w~way. She bl~med herself ifor not seeing it. She kefjt y1 g that because~adn't got a father they all thought it was so nice for him to go to the farm a~with Trutmann. ' •

I left - $ apartment feeling shattered and drained. I drove to Camp re l went to the Camperdown Police Station. I spol<e~o a olice officer there an:.tf told him what had happened, my conversations with • • · • and my c.oncer(1 that Trutmann was still worl<ing in the Highton Boarding ouse. recall him tellin!~ me I had no concrete evidence sgainst Trutmenn. That what I was telling him was ;"gut feelings".

He advised me· to phone a sexual assault/abuse type hot line that was operating. He gave me the nLJmber and t phoned it. I was told I could be anonymous but I chose to disclose all per!sonal details and contacts. I spoke to the person for quite some time . I fully expectedito hear back from them soon for more details but didn't. Some weeks later I phoned a.1gain. 1 retold the story. Again I was never t;ontacted.

1 then moved td1 Zimbabwe at the end of that year, 19135. I married and after anoth~r stint at Timbert1'.~p Jan 1996-mid 1997 I moved to 'Hong Kong.

SIGNED: C.A. PARSONS WITHOUT PREJUDICE

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. INFORMATION FROM HONG KONG

I was in town with rrvf two young daughters In Hoy ong one day in 2003. I was recognised by an ex Highton parent Mr$ i;jd•p'#' !Mtopped and had a conversation in;the stree h spoke to my augtl er · • · 41/2) and .asked where she was going ~o school. • • ~ re lied Geelong Grammar. n fact she was at the looal Hong Kon1~ kindergarten. • • · ooked aghast saying MSurely not, surely you wouldn't send y;our children theren~ I hought we were at cross purposes given their ages Of 4&3. l e;xplained that no, they weren't at GGS tn. e in fact at a Montessori kindergarten in Hong l'\ong. I went on to ~ay • • · was confused as we had often talked about when we returned to Australia to 1ve t at she too would go to ~ng Gramr~ar like her brothers, father, grandfather and great grandfather. Mrs ~s visibl(a upset and flustered and distressed and we parted company. It all seeffied most oi:ld. . .

·About 4 month; later, approximately December 2003, I bumpeq· Into Mrs. ~t the departure loung.e at Chek Lap Kok airport. She came over to where I wa~~,ttl~ and said that I had been on her mind and that l must thin!( sne was bitter and twisted following our odnversation on Hong Kong side. She said I have a very good reason for not llking Geelong Grammar· anti went on to say how it had ruined the life of her sonBIY ---, nd shattered their family.

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She proceeded~ to relay how for Chlistmas 2000 Iler husband had organised a large family gatherin~·I of Grandparents Aunts and Uncles and theirr!ikf©n....IQey all met at a resort in Thailand. On Christmas Eve just before midnightBIY __ __ Jasked everyone to be !quiet as he had something to say. He then tol all his family how he had been abUS(.~d by Philippe Trutmann from the time he arrived at Highton. (He was enrolie~ as a jupior boarde~ at Highton with his sistetl~•'t''J'\ Their p~rents were bas e>.1reme unwe I nd was diagnosed with · that required lengthy surgery and reha ion in . . .. ence e ec1sion to send them to boarding school). This contact with Tr~1l ann continued even when he was at Corio With Trutmann picking him up there in jhis own csr to take him to the football.

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Mrsltlillwent on to describe what Trutmann haci done to her son. Her description __macfei'he"'hairs istand up on the back of my neck. It was virtually word for word how siw had descrlb.ecl.to me what had happened to him 14 years ear1ie•s1w ad left

Geelong Gram1:nar at least 3 years RTior 1s1v arriving. She wen on to say what a dreadfu~ time they'd hsc.t with1BIY . 1tl'ICffu-g5alcohol low self esteem etc. j etc. and now h~>w it all added up. Howse-many things added up.

t ~~I~ ·~r~.-she should ~cll-th.e ~ch~ol.. She was ~st d~ri~i·~~ ~f th~· ~~ggestion . 1

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itU.121Yin.q theyW.ould do nothing about it. I assured her they would. She said ~IY jdid,n't want anyone to know olJlside the family and I was the only non I tamuymem~wanythlng. ~~ ~

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. In February zod5 ·my famil and ·1 returned to Australia to live. I enrolled my children at the Bostock (;~ampus · of Geelan GJ"an'l,JPM Scho~)I. I thoug a OU BIY BIW n \BIH all the time.~s story: of 17 years earlier a a ways 1sturbed me~tteF e conversation wi;th Mrslllll decided that someone at the school had to know.

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I contacted the ~ead of Student Welfare at Geelong Grammar School, Stuart Davis. We met and heillstened carefully to Wh!ilt I have told you, he a$ked lots of questions, he wrote notes ~nd prQmise~illf w~uld.lrk into it. He was very compassionate and although h,~ didn't know~an BIW e did lmow~BIY I Some time later~· in mid 2004, I was contacted by telephone by Stuart De.vis. By this time I was emp(oyed at Geelong Grammar aga-in. This time as a casual nurse at both the Cori,mp[i.ls and at the Timbertop campus. Stuart Davis told me he had oheolted • . le~•" from Hlghton and there was nothing on them concerning anything I had told im. H(:: told me he had informed John Gilson the acting headmaster regarding what ll had told him. I had stressed that as themaramily didn't want any one to know an\~ the infom1atJon should remain in !f1e st~confideni::e. On March 14 2Q05 I received a message from Detectlve Troy Groves of Corio CID asking to interv(ew me about events during the late 1980's at Highton. I phoned Charlie Scudan;lore Head of Cotio on March 15 and explained an outline of what I knew the polic~ would want to talk about His reply was to give the police my fUll assistance and1be totally full and frank about anything that had happened. tie also offered· me his 'full assistance on behalf of the school. I then phoned Troy Groves. We met the follbwing day with another detective, James Lee.

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On March 29 I {}ave a full statement at the Bellarine Police Station to Detective Ja.mes Lee. !

This is lengthy {:mough but there are other children that concern.me.

-~empted suicide by ·hanging. He was found in his room by Tony ln\,ster :

- yr. 9 attempted suicide by over<!osing on medication in the boarding ~ REDACTED

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also made a ory for help, I am hazy on the details ~

REDACTED did many strange things including degrees of self harm while in the boarding house1.

. ... - . - . . .. . . .. REDACTED would smea r his faeces. Often his bedroom wall would be covered.

WITNESS: t:L. Al,mERSTREM !

~~~ SIGNED: CA PARSONS WITHOUT PREJUDICE

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- ; ..... - .... . I am aware that went on to Od~and had a serious drug problem irr, ool. His father- informed me.

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I am aware thro:Ugh the media that also ended up at Odyssey House with a dr;ug addiction,

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I am aware tha~c-·B-KK-----~~as had drug and alcohol problems.

I am awi:ire tha.1BKE jhas had years of depression.

REDACTED I am aware tha has struggled

I knowthat remains un

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shot him self at his mother's fallli in his early 20's and it used to board occasionally in the late SO's.

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~~ild me that 2 weeks prior to his son lilililshootilli'llself that he ~n;at·outburst about how much he hat~~'?m!m?lnn. • • · grew up on

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h ff Mon ca11'lpus. • • · • !iJmwas not a boaraer. ied in queens and m 1s ea y 20s . .

l was also awa~e that Trutmarin had an unusual! close relationship wi1hlH'M"I ~the son C,tf • • • lived in the poarding house in "i'!lmi'and was ~bout 7 yeara old. There was-. lo of roig~ h:ut ng" between the two

and I can recallifeellng slightly uncomfortable. Just afteriBIH s death I had one of several discussjons with ldi•M'ij••about the ongoing re 1;J onship betweenliill and Trutmann. J was very frank about what I suspected and ~aid he too was concerned about the nature of the relationship and the effect it was having on 1i1ii71

lii!Elhad recerWy divorced and Trutrnann was always at his former marital home ""h'efP'ing~i~~ehold jobs and the children. l lcnow from a

•s~h~s brother,!Dmlan~in 1995, that li{ftfil (their elderly mother) despised ~nn a~ was uup to no good".

give. a viti•ensive birthday gift which had eclipsed anything the family had puro,mised • • · as about 10. . .

i Now I wonder a1bout the chronic bedwetters in the Highton Boa-din House ... ~. 'dl'hW'Pand~ · • · • They we~ .. was Tu JUSt a s~my job was to get them up last thing Clt inight to take fuern to ihe toilet. It was Trutmann who Sl.lggested it wasn't really e~propriate as they were boys and he was happy to do r.:. I now realise it was probablyito keep me away from the top corridor at night.

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A WITNESS'. l.L. At,4DE~STREM

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