Lawyers investigate potential claims against Congregation of the Sisters of Nazareth

A man, who we have called ‘Tom’ alleges sexual abuse and assault by a former staff member who lived and taught at the children’s home in Port Elizabeth. 

Tom, who lived at the school from 1978 to 1982, claims that he was repeatedly sexually abused over this period and was photographed as part of this abuse. He also alleges physical and emotional abuse by the nuns who ran the children’s home. 

Tom claims he was abused between the age of nine to 11, both within the Sisters of Nazareth home and while attending the nearby local school, St Augustine’s. 

Represented by international team lawyers at Leigh Day, Tom believes there were other children who experienced abuse. 

Headquartered in the UK, SoN operates through an international network of Nazareth Houses, which provide lodgings to nuns and care services to the local community. Historically, the SoN provided care to children, but in more recent times has focused on its work to the elderly. 

A teacher who previously worked at the SoN home in Port Elizabeth in the 1970s and 1980s was convicted of child sexual abuse in South Africa in the early 2000s, after being found with a large collection of child pornography, much of which he had photographed himself. Police reported recovering the largest collection of child pornography that had ever been found in the Western Cape. 

The man, now believed to be in his late 70s, was convicted of nine charges of recent indecent assault on young boys. However, in the early 2000s, the criminal limitation period in South Africa prevented prosecution of earlier alleged offences.  

The prevalence of sexual, physical and emotional abuse in SoN homes in England, Scotland, Ireland and Australia is well-documented, including by public inquiries in which Leigh Day has participated. 

Leigh Day has a long history of taking cases on behalf of individuals affected by harm at the hands of powerful organisations, institutions and even governments. Leigh Day has previously acted in claims brought against the Sisters of Nazareth on behalf of individuals who were abused in their UK-based children's homes. 

A report published by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry in 2019 previously found that Sisters of Nazareth nuns subjected children to vicious abuse, humiliation and sexual assault, across a number of Nazareth House homes in Scotland. 

Dena Latif, international individual and group claims solicitor at Leigh Day, said: 

“These are extremely serious allegations of abuse in a place where children should have been safe and protected. We are determined to investigate these claims thoroughly and to seek justice for any who have suffered. We urge anyone who may have been abused or who has information about these allegations to come forward. It is vital that survivors are heard and that those responsible are held accountable.” 

Survivors who suffered abuse or believe they have information about the allegations relating to children’s homes owned and operated by the Sisters of Nazareth can contact Dena Latif in confidence at dlatif@leighday.co.uk or on 02076501147.