Campaigner accuses nuns

A high-profile Auckland businessman, who has spent years fighting "justice campaigns", claims he was abused as a child by nuns at Nazareth House in Christchurch and is seeking compensation.

Dermot Nottingham developed a public profile in the 1990s after exposing odometer tampering on imported cars.

He is seeking at least $30,000 in compensation as a second round of talks between alleged victims and Nazareth House begins.

Mr Nottingham and his siblings were placed in the St Joseph's boys' home, run by Nazareth Sisters, in 1971 and 1972 after their father was killed in a car accident. His mother paid for his stay in the home.

Mr Nottingham has accused Nazareth nuns of sustained abuse over two years, including having his hand broken after more than a dozen blows with a hardwood dowel and being deprived of food for a week because he refused to eat his dinner.

A psychological assessment found he was "exposed to severe and prolonged trauma as a very young child, which had a substantial psychological impact on his functioning over a long period of time, and still can cause emotional distress in the present day".

Mr Nottingham and about 20 other complainants entered mediation talks yesterday, the second group of alleged victims to seek compensation from the Sisters since abuse allegations first surfaced.

Sisters of Nazareth has paid for the group's legal representation.

Mr Nottingham says he will give any compensation to charity and that he pursued the complaint only to put the matter to rest.

"The time spent at the home was an absolute disaster for my entire family. The family became completely dysfunctional. All of us were violent upon the return to class."

Mr Nottingham said he expected his claim to be taken seriously and would not "be silenced and satisfied with a Hail Mary or two".

The mediation process continues this week, with Mr Nottingham hoping to settle on more than the $5000 to $15,000 likely payout indicated by his lawyers.

Last year, it was reported that the Sisters of Nazareth had given cars, overseas trips, home appliances and other gifts to alleged victims.

The payments were part of an undisclosed settlement reached by the order with 17 complainants who alleged physical and sexual abuse while in the nuns' care at Nazareth House and St Joseph's home.

The complaints spanned from the 1930s to the 1960s.

Fourteen women and three men confronted the Sisters, who were visiting from Australia, in an emotional two-week mediation.

- NZPA