Royal Commission told abuse allegations not taken seriously by Toowoomba school

By Emily Bourke
ABC - PM
February 17, 2014

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3946544.htm?site=southqld

MARK COLVIN: The child abuse royal commission has heard that a primary school in Toowoomba failed as recently as six years ago to stop a serial sex offender from abusing more than a dozen girls at the school. It happened despite a raft of child protection policies.

The inquiry's first public case study outside Sydney is focusing on the abuse of 13 girls in 2007 and 2008. Their teacher Gerard Byrnes was found guilty of 44 offences. He remains in jail.

Today the inquiry heard from some of the parents of the victims who detailed the profound impact the abuse had had on their children and their families.

The inquiry also heard that the school's student protection officer did not, and still does not, understand the concept of how children can be groomed by sex offenders.

PM's Emily Bourke reports.

EMILY BOURKE: The girls who were abused by their primary school teacher, Gerard Byrnes, were either sworn to secrecy or were too afraid to speak out. And when they did, it took some time for their complaints to be taken seriously.

The effect of the abuse on the victims and their families has been profound.

KR: Before this she was an outgoing little girl. I thought something was wrong or causing her stress but when I tried to talk to her or question her about it she would only reply, "I'm okay".

EMILY BOURKE: Today the royal commission heard one mother, "KR", whose young daughter was among the group of girls abused in their Toowoomba classroom between 2007 and 2008.

KR: She became anaemic looking, her eyes looked sunken and grey and they used to be shiny and blue. KE also lost her appetite and continued to chew and suck her bottom lip and the inside of her mouth. She would come to me and show me the sores on the inside of her mouth and tell me she had bitten them during the night when she was experiencing bad dreams.

EMILY BOURKE: Senior counsel assisting the royal commission, Gail Furness, said the inquiry will examine how and why a raft of child protection policies failed.

GAIL FURNESS: On paper the school had what appeared to be adequate staff training and development concerning student protection. There was a frequency with which it occurred and it was provided by external providers as well as internal. However, the adequacy must be called into question when the evidence is likely to reveal that some staff believed, as I've indicated, that a written complaint was necessary, and further that three experienced educators did not characterise the conduct complained of as giving rise to a reasonable suspicion of harm.

EMILY BOURKE: The scandal led to the sacking of several people, including the primary school principal, Terry Hayes.

KQ: A couple of days after meeting with Terry and Cathy I received a telephone call from Terry in which he informed me that he'd spoken to Gerry about the incident involving KH. I got the impression from that telephone conversation that Mr Byrnes had made out to him that the incident involving KH was just a cuddle gone wrong.

EMILY BOURKE: The witness known as KQ is the father of one of the first victims who lodged a complaint with the school in 2007.

KQ: I thought that the school would look after things. I wasn't told by Terry or Cathy that they had any obligations or duty to report the complaint to police or any authorities. I don't recall that I was ever told that I had the option to go to the police myself. I don't recall Terry or Cathy ever telling me at the meeting that Terry would need to consult with anyone else in relation to a complaint such as the Catholic Education office in Toowoomba.

EMILY BOURKE: Under questioning by counsel assisting Andrew Naylor, the student protection officer Catherine Long explained how there were concerns about some of the things that Byrnes was doing.

CATHERINE LONG: And I knew he gave lollies and I did say to him on the way home, "You know that's something we need to talk to all our staff about because we all do it, but particularly you need to stop because you do give out lollies".

ANDREW NAYLOR: Are you now familiar with the concept of grooming?

CATHERINE LONG: I still don't know how people groom.

ANDREW NAYLOR: Did you have any perception, the conduct on the part of Mr Byrnes to emotionally form a connection...

CATHERINE LONG: No.

ANDREW NAYLOR: … with the girls in anyway?

CATHERINE LONG: No.

ANDREW NAYLOR: Do you recall ever receiving any training or instruction weather at an in-service about the concept of grooming?

CATHERINE LONG: I can't remember exactly everything that we did at those in-services.

EMILY BOURKE: Ms Long also came under intense questioning over how she responded in the face of a sharp rise in complaints in 2007.

CATHERINE LONG: I think we were trying to look after the children but we were also trying to be mindful of staff as well. So my mind didn't go to: you're a paedophile. My mind went to the man in front of me : I don't get that. Does that make sense?

GAIL FURNESS: So when you say I don't get that, I don't believe that?

CATHERINE LONG: I just don't… I don't believe that the person I worked with, that I was with, could do the things he did in a context of a day when there were so many of us around and nobody saw it. And I don't get that our children, with all of this student protection and everything else we have, didn't have the courage to come forward.

EMILY BOURKE: Ms Long was asked why the procedures in the school's risk management policy weren't followed after a meeting with KQ, his daughter and the principal Terry Hayes?

CATHERINE LONG: I was there as the note taker. He was in charge not me. That's not passing the buck. That's where I thought we stood.

ANDREW NAYLOR: Did Mr Hayes tell you at all that he was required to follow certain procedures set out in the student protection and risk management kit?

CATHERINE LONG: We didn't talk about the risk management kit.

EMILY BOURKE: The Catholic Church has paid out $3 million in compensation to some of the victims.

Gerard Byrnes is serving a 10 year jail sentence. He'll be eligible for parole in the same year that some of the victims will be in their final year of high school.