School removes name of former headmaster from sports building over accusation Dr Max Howell had turned a blind eye to Kevin John Lynch’s abuse

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

An elite Brisbane school has removed from one of its buildings the name of a former headmaster accused of turning a blind eye to years of child sexual abuse.

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Brisbane Grammar school’s board of trustees said on Friday that the name of Dr Max Howell had been removed from the sports building, which had been known as the MA Howell indoor sports centre.

“From our discussions with victims, we believe the removal of the name is fundamental to the school’s apology to them,” the school’s chairman, Howard Stack, said.

Stack told the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, when it sat in Brisbane last month, that the board was considering changing the building’s name.

The indication came after the inquiry heard evidence from multiple former students and their parents, who claimed they had told Howell and senior teachers as early as 1979 of sexual abuse by a counsellor, Kevin John Lynch.

Howell, who died in 2011, repeatedly denied he had had knowledge of Lynch’s abuse.

Stack said the board had discussed removing Howell’s name from the building with his family, who supported the decision.

Howell’s family said he would have acknowledged the fact the abuse was appalling and would have apologised to the victims.

“He would have accepted that as the headmaster he was ultimately responsible for the disgraceful actions of one of his staff,” the family said.