Man left with burns due to electric shock treatment at Lake Alice
Wednesday, 23 June 2021
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A man who spent time in Lake Alice as a child still has burn marks on his genitals from shock therapy and has been left unable to father children.
Charlie Symes, 63, said shock therapy was always without anaesthetic, was always a punishment, and was always administered by lead psychiatrist Dr Selwyn Leeks.
He spoke to commissioners in Auckland on Wednesday as part of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
This part of the inquiry has been focused on the child and adolescent unit at Lake Alice, near Marton, which operated from 1972 to 1978.
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* Lake Alice staff member did not see abuse, torture or punishment
* Lake Alice staff restrained children during electric shock therapy to avoid dislocated joints
* Lake Alice survivor told he was wasting police time when he made first complaint
**
Symes was admitted into Lake Alice twice in 1973, after spending time in Hokio Beach School, Epuni Boys’ Home and Kohitere Boys Training Centre.
His mother was violent, so Symes learnt to be physical from a young age and was put in care because she could not control him.
He spent just over a year in Lake Alice aged 15. Symes was given shock therapy within the first few days and then about three times a week.
When they strapped him to the table, he would lash out and fight.
“I would hear the ECT machine warming up, it would make a humming sound that I can still remember today. Once the humming stopped, it meant the machine was ready and the pain started.”
He received shock treatment on his head, groin, the soles of his feet, neck and across his chest.
It was always the most sensitive places. He still has burn marks on his genitals and believes this is why he has never been able to have children.
The treatment lasted five to 10 minutes but if Leeks was feeling mean it would be longer. The longest session was 45 minutes.
“I remember Leeks’ face when he would turn the knob. He smiled every time, and his smile would get broader and broader the more pain he caused.”
Staff used shock therapy to stop Symes’ violent outbursts but it made his anger worse.
He was once taken to Whanganui Hospital because he was having heart and breathing problems after shock treatment. He was put on a respirator in hospital for about 1½ weeks.
Lake Alice staff knew he had a heart condition but the electric shocks continued.
Symes had a heart valve replacement in 1996 and the surgeon said he should never have had electric therapy because of the hole in his heart. He was lucky to be alive.
Electric shock therapy dished out like lollies
Tom, who spoke anonymously, was abused in many state institutions, including Lake Alice. He was in Lake Alice for three months in 1975 when he was 14.
As a result of violent assaults from Tom’s father, and sexual abuse from another man, he began to act up and was taken into care aged 12.
“Lake Alice had to be the worst of all the places I was put in by the government. The kids who were there were just ordinary kids but what happened to us wasn’t.”
The first time he received electric shock therapy was after leaving the shower and he only had time to grab a towel.
“The pain was slow at the start. ECT was a quick, intense pain with everything flashing.”
He had urinated and lost control of his bowels when he woke up, and felt like a zombie for three-to-five days.
It was dished out like lollies and you could not predict when you would get it.
He is now 60 and has spent 40 years of his life in prison. His last psychological report called him institutionalised.
“This is true. It is easy for me to be in jail. I know the system and I do not have problems there.
“If only someone had listened to me when I was 9 and supported me through the trauma of being sexually abused and living in a violent family.”
Medical council apologises
Medical Council deputy chief executive Aleyna Hall said it apologised for any actions the council of the time should have taken but did not.
“To the survivors of the Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Unit, the Medical Council is sorry.
“It is with regret that the current Medical Council is unable to provide reasons for the decisions that were made in the past in relation to complaints of abuse or in relation to Dr Leeks.”
She said this was due to the length of time since the complaints and the incompleteness of records.
The inquiry continues.