Rowan Maxwell Donoghue, 69, worked at St Bede’s College as a priest and dean of boarders.
Rowan Maxwell Donoghue, 69, worked at St Bede’s College as a priest and dean of boarders.
A former priest and school dean has admitted sexually abusing young people at a leading Christchurch boys’ college.
Rowan Maxwell Donoghue, 69, worked at St Bede’s College as a priest and dean of boarders.
The offending took place between 1996 and 2000 while he was working at the school, andrelated to four students.
Today, Donoghue appeared in the Christchurch District Court on six charges, including indecent assault on a boy aged 12-16, indecent assault on a boy 16 and over, and sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection.
St Bede’s College, with about 800 students, is an all-boys integrated Roman Catholic day and boarding school in Papanui, Christchurch.
The college says it is the oldest Catholic boys’ school in the South Island and the only one to cater to boarders and day boys.
Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the NZ Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the last 16 years. Most recently he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of the Cook Islands News.
