Detectives have arrested an 82-year-old man accused of assaulting a dozen teenagers at Hobart childrens’ homes in the 1970s and ’80s.
The man, who was arrested in Sunbury on Thursday, was a former senior employee of the Kennerley Children’s Home in Hobart.
Kennerley Boys’ Home was established in 1869 for boys who had been dislocated from their families, providing them with trade training and life skills while under care.
The inclusion of girls from 1969 meant that brothers and sisters could be kept together.
The man is facing charges that relate to 12 complainants, all of whom were young teenagers at the time.
The offences were allegedly committed at four homes belonging to Kennerley Children’s Home in the Hobart suburbs of Claremont and Chigwell.
The charges follow years of investigation by the Glenorchy Criminal Investigation Branch.
The charges included seven counts of maintaining a sexual relationship, two counts of committing an indecent act directed at a young person and one count of sexual intercourse with a young person under the age of 17.
The man was also charged with 10 counts of indecent assault.
He will face the Hobart Magistrates Court on December 9.
