BIGGEST Moments of 2012 #12. Fox Rocks Church
9 News
He'd had enough. Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox of the NSW Police had investigated too many cases of child sex abuse over the length of his career to keep silent any longer. He simply had to speak out. It cost him his career, as he knew it likely would, but he spoke out anyway. By lifting the lid on years of sexual abuse cases in the Hunter region, and an alleged police cover-up of sex abuse in the Catholic Church, Peter Fox sparked nothing less than a sweeping Royal Commission into child sex abuse. The details of many of the cases Fox investigated are horrific. He outlined some of those details in a revealing interview on late night television, and a nation was sickened to the core. Despite the widespread national outrage and shock, Fox received no support or communication from his superiors. That is, unless you count a call from a fellow officer reminding him it was against police procedure to talk to the media. The failure of fellow cops to support him struck most Australians as shameful. Sometimes there is a case to break protocol. Imagine an officer putting himself in the line of a bullet yet being forced out of the Police Force for his bravery. That's the context in which many people viewed Fox's departure. At the end of the day, Peter Fox gave the impression of a man glad to move on, especially since he'd achieved his aim. He said he felt "vindicated and satisfied" that at last, the voices of innumerable victims would be heard. The royal commission will begin in earnest next year, and will investigate child sex abuse in both the Catholic Church and beyond. Not every victim will get a chance to have a say but even so, the royal commission could be a long, drawn out affair. These things sometimes go on for years. HOW YOU CONSUMED THE NEWS With your eyes half closed as if watching a horror movie. The stories on this important issue were never particularly high-rating on news websites like ours. It's almost as though there are some things we'd rather not read about, even though we care deeply. One piece that did good traffic was the story on the smear campaign against Peter Fox by our Chief Reporter Tory Shepherd. Seems we found the campaign against Fox almost as distasteful as the abuse he uncovered. WHAT WE LEARNED That there is some truth in all those movies where one brave person speaks out and makes the world a better place.
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