St Mary’s School, Dandenong

St Mary’s began in 1912 as St Mary’s Convent School. It was established by the Presentation sisters who established a new convent and Catholic school in Dandenong, south-east of Melbourne. The school opened with 75 students and currently operates as a co-ed school with enrolments around 325 students. It caters for Years One to Six. The School comes under the supervision of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.

The School like many other Catholic schools around Australia, has unfortunately been involved in the past in allegations dealing with child sexual abuse. This is mainly due to the actions of one perpetrator - Father John ‘Kevin’ O’Donnell - who was heavily scrutinised (as well as the Archdiocese of Melbourne) by the Royal Commission in Case Study 16: “The Melbourne Response.” The Royal Commission revealed that 56 people made either a claim of child sexual abuse, or a complaint of child sexual abuse that was substantiated, against Father Kevin O’Donnell. Of those 56 allegations, 4 were in relation to St Mary’s when Father O’Donnell was associated with the School. The earliest incident occurring in 1960, while the last being in 1967.

Moody Law has in the past represented clients who were sexually and physically while they were students within or members of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.

We invite former victims, students, teachers, or parents to tell us confidentially what information they may have, and we will explain what options are available to help with these cases.

Call us or complete the confidential enquiry form below.