Standing by my Brother coming to Geelong

On June 17, 1980, the day after Maria James discovered her 11-year-old son Adam was being sexually abused by Father Anthony Bongiorno, she was stabbed to death in the back of her secondhand Thornbury bookshop.

Fast-forward 39 years and Adam – who has cerebral palsy and Tourette syndrome – is sharing his story (with the help of eldest brother Mark) at the Having A Say Conference (HASC) in Geelong on February 4.

Thanks to ABC’s true-crime podcast “Trace: Who Killed Maria James?”, the brothers’ story is once again at the forefront of Australians minds, with their mother’s cold case re-opened last November.

Mark said they would speak at the conference alongside the podcast’s creator and presenter, Rachael Brown, where Adam will talk about his abuse and how he found the courage to share.

“It’s more important than ever to get the message out there if something has happened, whether it’s a serious as abuse or something small, it’s important to speak out about it.”

Mark said he had no idea his brother was experiencing sexual abuse and was in complete shock when Adam made the revelation in 2015.

“Adam said he’d told Mum the day before she died about what Father Bongiorno had done, and she’d phoned the parish the morning of her death to confront them. He hadn’t told anyone else apart from her.”

Mark said after Adam told him they went straight to the police station and made a statement to Detective Ron Iddles, which was extremely difficult for his brother to do.

“It came out a year later that he had also been abused by Father Thomas O’Keeffe, on the day he told Mum about what was happening; they’d both abused him separately that morning.”

Mark said during their presentation at the HASC, Adam touched on the techniques used by his abusers that silenced him from speaking out.

“It’s all the usual, the threats and intimidations. They’ll pull serious facial expressions, which to vulnerable people can be intimidating. They’ll say ‘don’t tell your mum or brother’ and if they say it aggressively enough, that’s enough to terrify them.

“Adam’s been terrified for years. I think it’s important that carers and families regularly check in, in a sensitive way and ask questions: has anything happened that’s upset you? Has anything happened out of the ordinary?

“Carers and family need to be aware vulnerable people are often exploited by sick perverts and it’s hard for them to talk about.”

The HASC is taking place at Deakin University, Geelong Waterfront Campus February 4 from 1.30pm until 3.30pm.

Reserve your spot by phoning VALID on 9416 4003 or via email at [email protected].