本应是学习知识的圣地，但是在最阳光的年纪却屡屡被心怀不轨的人得逞。

据《每日电讯报》报导，律师帕金森（Jason Parkinson）手头有逾1,500个状告Trinity Grammar、Knox Grammar、St Patrick’s、Newington College和De La Salle College等名校的案子。

因性虐待问题达到“令人吃惊”的规模，新州部分声望最高的男校将面临数百万元的诉讼。

帕金森说，诉讼规模就跟1970年代和1980年代石棉危险相关诉讼案一样多。

“再没有什么普通的犯罪行为或疏忽行为比虐待儿童所带来的影响更大了。这个问题之所以比石棉更恶劣，是因为这些机构存在的原因就是照顾儿童，”帕金森在周一说道，“有很多学校和Scouts等机构的虐待行为达到令人吃惊的规模。”

他表示，从20多年前实行性虐待案件必须上报的规定以来，州立学校成为最干净的机构，但部分名校倾向于隐瞒虐待丑闻。

帕金森说，那些努力想给孩子提供最好的生活的父母却遭受了残酷的打击。

“最残酷的事之一，就是那些打两份工付学费的母亲在30年后发现，老师或天主教里的兄弟们猥亵了她们的孩子。而且，那些人拿的钱是她们支付的，”他说道，“现在，她们的孩子付出了代价。”

其他律师事务所也接到针对名校，包括The Scots College和Waverley College等的诉讼，要求赔偿损失。

调查性虐待问题的皇家委员会此前就披露过，学校为了保护声誉，会隐瞒性虐待的真相。约85%的受害者在被虐待时都是男孩。

帕金森表示，这些受害者在被虐待时无法信任医生，因此没有告诉医生。但后来，他们不得不寻求心理医生和精神病医生的帮助，给医保（Medicare）带来一笔负担。

现在，很多案子都通过法庭解决了。

去年11月，天主教会就和一对姐妹达成秘密和解。这对姐妹在几十年前被Maitland-Newcastle教区恋童癖神父麦卡林登（Denis McAlinden）性虐过。

和解条款由法庭定下来的，但只有一名法官知道。麦卡林登死前没有被控告过。

Sex abuse: Prestigious NSW boys’ schools hit with 1500 lawsuits

SOME of the most prestigious boys’ schools in NSW face multimillion-dollar lawsuits alleging systemic sexual abuse on an “outrageous” scale.

Lawyer Jason Parkinson has more than 1500 cases against such schools as Trinity Grammar, Knox Grammar, St Patrick’s at Goulburn, Newington College and De La Salle colleges at Revesby Heights and Marrickville.

Mr Parkinson said the scale of litigation was similar to the flood of cases following the revelation of the dangers of asbestos in the 1970s and ’80s.

“There has not been a common thread of criminality or negligence that has affected more Australians than child abuse and it is more egregious than asbestos because these institutions’ reason for being was caring for children,” Mr Parkinson said yesterday.

“There are schools and organisations like the Scouts where abuse was happening on an outrageous scale.”

He said state schools were the cleanest institutions because mandatory reporting of sex abuse was implemented more than 20 years ago, while prestigious schools tried to keep abuses quiet.

Parents who struggled to give their children the best in life had been dealt a cruel blow, Mr Parkinson said.

“One of the cruellest things to realise is that mothers took second jobs to pay for the school fees to find out 30 years later that the teachers or the Catholic brothers were molesting their children and these families were paying for it,” he said. “Now their children are paying for it.”

Other law firms have multiple claims for damages against the same schools and others, including The Scots College and Waverley College.

The sex abuse royal commission laid bare the truth of the abuse that schools tried to hide to protect reputations.

About 85 per cent of the victims were boys at the time.

“It’s costing the taxpayer a fortune in Medicare costs,” Mr Parkinson said.

“These men are going to see psychologists and psychiatrists for help because they were never able to tell their doctors of their abuse when it occurred because they feared they would not be believed.”

Many cases are now being settled at the door of the court.

Last November, the Catholic Church reached a confidential settlement with two sisters sexually abused decades ago by paedophile Father Denis McAlinden in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese.

The terms of the settlement were sealed by the court, only to be opened by a judge.

McAlinden died without ever being charged.