Marist Brothers' law firm wrote about jailed Brother Chute in 2009 letter
In 2009, lawyers from Carroll & O'Dea visited Brother Kostka Chute in a Canberra jail and then wrote to the head of the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious order, according to The Guardian. The firm represents the order in civil abuse claims, meaning lawsuits for compensation rather than criminal cases. Chute, who is also known as John William Chute, was in jail at the time for abusing six children.
The letter was addressed to Br Jeffrey Crowe, who led the order at the time. It advised the Marist Brothers to keep Chute well away from the legal arena once he was released. It also described Chute as having been quite open about his discussions with provincials, the order's regional leaders, naming Br Charles, Br Quentin and Br Weldon. The letter said Chute had high levels of honesty and integrity, and that earlier suggestions about not criticising others excessively were dropped once conversation was under way.
A survivor known as CQ alleges that Chute abused him in 1985 and 1986 at Marist College Canberra. CQ alleges that the Marist Brothers knew of abuse complaints against Chute and concealed them. The order denies that allegation. Chute has also faced abuse complaints involving Marist schools in Randwick, Bondi, Hunters Hill, Lismore, Coogee and Canberra.
CQ is represented by Porters Lawyers, who have subpoenaed two Carroll & O'Dea lawyers to give evidence in a case in the ACT Supreme Court. A subpoena is a formal order requiring a person to appear in court and testify. The case is civil, and the Carroll & O'Dea lawyers are not parties to it.
The firm has represented Catholic orders, including the Marist and Christian Brothers, for decades. A letter from Carroll & O'Dea to the law firm Monahan + Rowell about indemnity, an agreement to cover legal costs or losses, is listed as an exhibit in the Royal Commission's Case Study 13 on the Marist Brothers. That inquiry, the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, examined how the order responded to allegations in schools in the ACT, New South Wales and Queensland.
Separately, CTV News has reported that an out-of-court settlement, meaning an agreement reached without a trial, was reached between the Marist Brothers and victims of sexual abuse.
