The North's Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry heard today how one boy was allegedly locked in a "cattle crusher" by a De La Salle brother and raped.
The witness, now aged 70, and his 77-year-old step-brother described how they were allegedly sexually and physically abused when separately they were in the care of the De La Salle brothers at Rubane House in Kircubbin, Co Down.
The older brother said Rubane House was a “hell hole” and “hell on earth” while a third witness who also gave evidence today used the same phrase, “hell on earth”.
The younger step-brother who entered the home in 1958 said that when children went to bed at night some brothers started getting into the beds with them. He described getting woken up by one brother “fumbling and fondling” him. He mentioned two brothers whom he “had to fondle and masturbate”.
The most serious alleged incident he recounted was when one brother trapped him in a home-made “cattle crusher” which was used to pen in cattle when they had to be treated or tended. The “crusher” locked his head and body. He said the brother took off the witness’s clothes and then raped him.
The witness said that subsequently in confession he told the chaplain to Rubane House about that rape, but the priest informed the brother. This resulted in his being punished and locked in a cupboard for a lengthy period.
The inquiry is investigating alleged child abuse at a total of 13 Northern Ireland institutions from 1922 to 1995. This current module is investigating alleged abuse at Rubane House where between 1951 and 1985 just over 1,000 boys were placed in care for varying periods of time.
The older brother said he was one of the first boys to enter the new care home in 1951 and that right from the start he suffered abuse.
“I don’t remember the good times because I had so many bad times,” he told the inquiry. The 77-year-old witness said that shortly after he arrived at Rubane he was sent for a shower where one of the brothers interfered with him.
He alleged there was physical as well as sexual abuse. He said on one occasion he was sent to get a film for the house but lost the money. He was afraid to come back but eventually he was picked up by police who were kind to him.
However, when the brothers were bringing him back to Rubane House they beat him in the car. The witness also said that he saw one brother committing what seemed to be an act of bestiality with a pig.
The witness also said some of the boys who were allegedly assaulted in the dormitories were never seen again. Asked what he thought happened, he replied, “There are a whole lot of possibilities, a lot of possibilities, but the one I come up with was because of the severity of some of the way that the brothers carried on in the house. I would not be at all surprised what had happened. You can draw your own conclusions on that.”
At the start of today's hearing Kevin Rooney, QC, for the De La Salle order repeated an apology that the brothers previously made for the incidents of abuse. But, he added, the order also said that some of the allegations were "inaccurate, unreliable and possibly untruthful". The order was seeking to protect the reputation and the integrity and the character of those brothers who did not abuse, said the lawyer.
A third witness from Co Fermanagh, now aged 69, also described Rubane as “hell on earth”. He described four incidents of sexual abuse that he suffered from one senior brother and other experiences of physical abuse from a number of brothers.
“I blamed myself for a long time for what happened to me. I realise now that it was not my fault but I would still suffer from very bad nightmares,” he said.
He said he should never have been taken into care as his mother and family wanted to look after him. He said his mother suffered a breakdown after he was taken into care. “They took her life away from her and I suppose they took my childhood away as well.”
And he added, “I hope that children of the future have a better lifestyle that I had in there and that the other boys had as well.”
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