Name Terry Le Compte
Statement by Judy McArdle about her brother Terry
Age when entered care 16 years old
Year of birth 1946
Hometown Ōtautahi Christchurch
Time in care 1963–1966, 1966–current
Type of care facility Psychiatric hospital – Sunnyside Hospital; residential care – Spreydon House, community group housing, a Salvation Army Men's Centre, veterans’ home
Ethnicity Pākehā 
Whānau background Terry was one of five siblings, with two sisters and two brothers, and parents who cared about him. When he went into care, his family tried to visit him and ensure he was being looked after.
Currently Terry’s father passed away and his mother lives in a rest home. Terry is currently under the care of his uncle, and he stays in a retirement home, which is ill-suited to his needs. His family feels powerless to help their son and brother – they struggle to find the right care for him due to him being labelled a paedophile, and his situation requires constant re-explanations to authorities. Terry struggles with being social and doesn’t like to be touched, so affection only happens on his terms. The family is seeking reassessment for Terry to see what funding is available so he can make the most of his life.

When he was a child, my brother, Terry, had rheumatic fever and polio. This left him with a very low IQ and no understanding of his behaviour or consequences. This means he has the mental and psychological age of a child and is easily bullied and manipulated.

When he was 16 years old, our parents were pressured into admitting Terry to Sunnyside because he was difficult to manage and used indecent language with children. Police threatened my mother, saying if she didn’t admit Terry, they’d take action against him. He was discharged three years later, in 1966, after our parents insisted he be returned to our family.

Later that year, Terry was arrested and accused of making suggestive comments to two children. He went back to Sunnyside and was committed under the Mental Health Act in 1967. He was deemed unfit to plead to these crimes and was never convicted. However, he was treated as a sex offender at Sunnyside, and I think this removed any chance of him being rehabilitated and living with dignity.

Terry was forced to stay in a ward at Sunnyside until 1986. During that time, the staff restricted our family’s visits, claiming we couldn’t care for him. We tried to visit every week but were often stopped by staff who either didn’t give us a reason or said Terry was in seclusion for disciplinary reasons. Terry would not have understood this – it’s unlikely he would connect punishment with behaviour. We tried to understand what happened in seclusion, but staff told us it was none of our business. By limiting our time with him, they increased his social isolation and sense of helplessness and fear, which made his anxiety worse.

Terry described Sunnyside as “awful” and said there were “bad people there”. He said younger staff would rough up the patients, which involved pushing and shaking. The staff and patients would also laugh at him about how he walked, which was a result of the polio – this only added to his sense of shame and worthlessness.

Terry was given medication to take away his sexual urges and it’s possible he received ECT as well. Despite there being no evidence he was schizophrenic, he was treated with antipsychotics until he went into the veterans’ home.

From 1986 to 2003, Terry was placed in community group housing. I think he was moved just to get him out of Sunnyside. He was in Spreydon House for the first three years, even though it wasn’t suitable for the type of care he needed. This is noted in his file, but he was kept there anyway.

None of the group homes were suitable – they were cold, wet, dirty and unhygienic. I would often try and clean the home for Terry and the other residents, but it wouldn’t stay that way. In such conditions, there was no chance for Terry’s mental state to improve. We were concerned by his living conditions, but we weren’t listened to.

Terry was also bullied in group housing by the other residents. The homes didn’t have adequate staff or support to manage residents’ disputes or personalities, and nothing was done to protect Terry as a vulnerable person.

Terry then spent 10 years in a Salvation Army centre for men. He was the only long-term resident. The centre wasn’t designed or staffed to cope with the long-term care of an intellectually impaired man, and he was bullied constantly – this included physical assaults and theft of his property. Terry was incredibly unhappy, and his mental state deteriorated. Any independence he may have been able to enjoy was eroded by the inhumane conditions and his continued labelling as a sex offender.

Terry was treated as a lost cause and never as a vulnerable person whose life could be improved. He never received the care someone in his position should expect. At one point, we hired a nurse to shower him and support his care in the centre. But despite the lack of basic care there, Terry thinks it was better than the community housing.

Terry was transferred to a veteran’s home when he was 67 years old. We have fewer concerns for Terry at this home, but it is a place for older people and therefore isn’t a particularly stimulating place for someone with intellectual disabilities.

Terry has been labelled as a sex offender for decades despite never being charged. This has affected how he has been treated in care and by society. As a result of what would have been a minor crime if he’d been convicted, Terry was shut off and made a pariah. He was denied any ability to integrate into the community, even though he was identified as being a nuisance, not a danger to society. The way he was treated added shame and created severe anxiety that has affected the rest of his life. He’s never been treated as he should have been – as a patient with physical and mental health needs.

He was denied the ability to live with dignity.

Due to his time in care, Terry has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hepatitis, general anxiety and little or no bowel control. His doctors think his inability to control his bowels is due to the long-term use of antipsychotics, which can also result in hepatitis. I also believe this is why Terry struggled to communicate in any of his placements – once he stopped taking those medications, the quality and clarity of his speech increased and improved his relationship with staff.

Before Terry went to Sunnyside, he could read simple sentences and manage his own self-care and hygiene. He is now illiterate, cannot manage his own self-care and needs 24-hour supervision. In addition, his eyesight, dental care and hearing have also been significantly compromised, as has his ability to perform basic functions.

Our family’s relationship with Terry has been damaged by his enforced isolation. We were consistently told we didn’t know what was right for him and that we had no role to play in his care. This left him socially isolated and a victim of a system that didn’t care for him or for us as a family unit. Despite not showing any signs of danger to children, Terry was not allowed to stay with me because of an imagined risk to my grandchildren.

Terry now has no hope of leaving care or living with much dignity. This outcome was avoidable and is a direct result of his unjust and enforced admission to Sunnyside.

It eroded any potential he had to be more.[1]

“Terry was treated as a lost cause and never as a vulnerable person whose life could be improved. He never received the care someone in his position should expect.”