Details have been revealed about what allegedly happened during a serious bullying incident which led to six students being expelled and a further 21 suspended at an elite Sydney University college last week.
On his 2GB breakfast show this morning, presenter Ben Fordham claimed he had spoken with “multiple sources” about the incident at St Paul’s College last Monday.
Fordham said he was told a group of male students had held a “mock trial on a fellow student”.
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“It was held in a meeting room on the ground floor. In the Kangaroo Court, there were students posing as judges, defence lawyers and prosecutors,” Fordham claimed.
The students are alleged to have gone through “evidence” against the accused and “mounted a case” for the boy to be “verbally abused”.
“At first, I’m told it was lighthearted and the victim was going along with it,” Fordham said, “but then things started to spiral”.
“The student who was playing the judge delivered a guilty verdict. The victim started to speak and the judge yelled out, ‘Gag the defendant!’.
“Another student then gagged the victim and the victim could not speak.”
https://omny.fm/shows/ben-fordham-full-show/exclusive-sex-toy-used-in-degrading-ritual-at-sydn/embed
The item used to gag the student was a sex toy purchased at an adult shop, Fordham claimed.
One student reportedly came and told St Paul’s College what had happened.
CCTV footage was used to identify students who were alleged to have attended the mock trial.
9news.com.au has contacted St Paul’s College for comment on the new claims.
Yesterday, college warden Dr Ed Loane told 9news.com.au said the college was “shocked and deeply disappointed” after “some of our students engaged in serious bullying of another student within their friendship group”.
“This behaviour is contrary to our values and standards. Our response, upon learning of this and conducting a thorough investigation, has been to expel the perpetrators and suspend the bystanders who failed to intervene.
“We are providing support and care to the victim of this incident. Our students receive training against bullying and harassment when they join the College.”
St Paul’s College was founded in 1856, making it Australia’s oldest university residential college.
It was all-male until it went co-residential in 2023 and comprises about 300 undergraduate students.
On its website, the college says it strives to “foster intellectual leadership, academic excellence, moral responsibility and civilised values”.
St Paul’s has been hit with a string of controversial incidents in recent years, including accusations of sexism in 2017.
It was also accused of racism in 2012 following reports it hosted a “colonial-themed party”.
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