KILDARE INTERVIEW: Newbridge resident alleges he suffered sex abuse while volunteering with St John Ambulance Ireland

A Newbridge resident has spoken to the Leinster Leader about the alleged sexual abuse he claims was inflicted on him by a former member of St John Ambulance Ireland (SJAI).

Mark Pender, 42, said he gained the confidence to speak about his experience following an article published in August of 2020 by another man who alleges that he was sexually abused and raped while working in the service.

Mark said: "At the time, I was thinking: 'what’s the point in reporting it? No one will believe me.'"

Mark added: "But after reading his article, I saw that it wasn’t just me (that was sexually abused)."

Although Mark is a proud family man now, he says that the horrific abuse he suffered still haunts him to this day, and even now finds it difficult to talk about his emotions with others.

He said: "I never dealt with it (effectively)... you know, that whole notion of 'big boys don’t cry.'"

While Mark eventually reported what happened to him to gardaí, as well as Tusla, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided not to proceed against the alleged perpetrator, citing a lack of evidence.

He said that the gardaí informed him about the decision, and gave him the choice to hear it in person or over the phone — Mark opted for over the phone.

As a result, Mark admitted that he has been left dissatisfied with both the DPP and Tusla, adding: "It’s like dead water to them."

Regarding Tusla, he said: "Tusla admitted it was not entirely satisfied with guidelines at St John’s, but Tusla have no real powers unless they directly fund organisations, so for organisations who aren’t funded by Tulsa, they can only make recommendations to them and can’t force them to do anything."

Mark did receive some political support, however: he commended TDs such as Jennifer Whitmore of the Social Democrats and Fine Gael Senator Regina Doherty, as well as his younger brother, Social Democrats councillor Chris Pender, who is based in Newbridge.

However, he added that other politicians have shied away from him entirely when he messaged them about his story, and some have not acknowledged him at all.

He added: "Councillors (not responding) I can understand, as they are not central to the government, but TDs should."

Mark also took issue an apology issued by SJAI, explaining that, in his view, it felt 'very general, and not at all personalised' to the survivors: "They knew our names but did not acknowledge us. I do acknowledge their apology, but I don’t accept it."

He said: "How can any organisations affiliated with St John be happy with them (to provide first aid at their events), when Tusla themselves aren’t satisfied with SJAI?"

When asked about what he would tell survivors of abuse, Mark replied: "You will be believed; don’t be me 23 years ago.

"People do care, and your family and friends will believe you. I wish someone told me this when I was a teenager.

"There is no shame, it’s the abuser who is at fault, not you."

A photograph of Mark Pender from his days with St John Ambulance Service. Pic supplied by Mark.

When the SJAI was asked about the allegations from Mark, a spokesperson for the organisation said that while SJAI 'can’t comment on matters presently before the courts', they also pointed to a link (https://www.stjohn.ie/revie
w/) that the spokesperson said contained 'an extensive response document from the organisation in relation to the independent review, alongside a press release and the organisational apology that was made.'

When Tusla was asked for a statement, a spokesperson for the organisation said: "Tusla does not comment on individual cases, this is to protect the privacy of the children and families we work with.

"When a person enters into a relationship with a public service such as Tusla, they are entitled to expect that information generated in that relationship is treated in confidence and remains private. This is critically important in the subject matters which Tusla is involved."

They continued: "In line with our primary legislative duty, when a person comes forward and makes an allegation about something that they experienced in childhood, Tusla’s role is focused on the safeguarding of children today who may be at risk due to abuse that is reported to have occurred in the past.

"When Tusla suspects that a crime has been committed, and a child or children has been wilfully neglected or physically or sexually abused, Tusla notifies An Garda Síochána where they investigate the crime.

"In relation to Section 11 of the Children First Act 2015, Tusla’s statutory role is to ensure that each organisation who is required to do so, prepares a written statement (referred to as a 'child safeguarding statement') specifying the service being provided and the child protection principles and procedures to be observed to ensure as far as practicable, that a child, while availing of the services, is safe from harm.

"As discussed in the Joint Committee for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Tusla’s enforcement powers in respect of the Child Safeguarding Statement is limited to maintaining a statutory register of services who have failed to present a Safeguarding Statement compliant with the requirements of the Act.

"Tusla also has Children First Information and Advice Officers who are available to liaise with voluntary and community organisations and provide advice and guidance on Children First.

The spokesperson added: "We vey much welcome the opportunity to be part of a wider stakeholder engagement as part of the Children First Interdepartmental Group, with a variety of stakeholders including Government departments, funders, service users and regulators to explore how all organisations working with children and young people can both be further supported in meeting their child protection obligations and held accountable for the implementation of child protection policies, procedures, and practices."

SUPPORT

Mark's daughter, Courtney, also spoke to the Leinster Leader about her father, and how the abuse has even had an effect on his parenting and her own mental health.

She said: "This has affected me in many different ways in life, as an example, in relationships and maintaining them, as I’ve always had it in my head not to trust anyone no matter what.

“It’s difficult to communicate my feelings in a proper manner as I’ve never known how to talk about things that have happened to me in my life.”

She added: "I feel as if it’s made my dad and I closer than ever but also further away than we’ve ever been, because we can talk about anything to each other, but when it comes down to how we are feeling and how it’s affected us. It’s something we can’t even bring up around each other.

"We don’t want to cause more pain and damage to each other, as we have already had so much sadness and trauma in our lives in many different ways."

Despite the trauma lingering within them both, Courtney also had this to say: "I’m beyond proud of him for finally getting the courage and strength to come out and tell his story and being able to talk about it so openly.

"It gives me the confidence to do the same, and to push him to get the help he’s needed his whole life, but was too afraid to ask for in fear he wouldn’t be believed.”

Courtney concluded: "All I want is to see my dad happy, truly happy, for the first time in his life... as long as he’s happy, then I’m happy."

Both of Mark’s sisters Stacy and Rachel also praised his courage and bravery in coming forward: "Most of the time men suffer in silence and don't want to speak up, which was the case for Mark.

"No one deserves to be hurt the way all of these survivors have been; no one deserves their trust broken."

Stacy and Rachel added: "Going forward as a family, we can only hope with the release of the (SJAI's) statement and Dr Shannon's report, that there may be room for him to heal, and to learn to cope with this chapter of his life."

In related news, the Department of Children has said that it is not considering any legislative changes to give Tusla greater powers to audit youth organisations, in the wake of the SJAI scandal.

According to an article from The Irish Times earlier today, Lara Hynes, assistant secretary-general with the Department, said in a meeting on March 22 last that officials 'were not currently considering any legislative changes' following the publication of Dr Shannon's report.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact: One in Four (oneinfour.ie), Rape Crisis Helpline (1800-778888), the Samaritans (116123 or jo@samaritans.org) and HSE counselling services (1800-235234)