Catholic School Principal Opted to Protect Bishop Rather Than Tell Police of Sexual Abuse Allegations

By Michael Madigan
The Courier-Mail
February 19, 2014

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/catholic-school-principal-opted-to-protect-bishop-rather-than-tell-police-of-sexual-abuse-allegations/story-fnihsrf2-1226831024718

THIS Catholic school principal did not refer serious allegations of sexual abuse in his school to police because he believed “the Bishop must not be compromised”.

Terence Michael Hayes, principal when teacher Gerard Byrnes assaulted 13 girls at his Toowoomba school, failed to apologise when he took to the stand at the royal commission into child sex abuse.

Under a grilling before a packed public gallery, Mr Hayes admitted: a victim was forced to re-enact the sexual abuse in his office using her dad’s hands to show how Byrnes touched her; he omitted accusations when reporting the abuse to his superiors that Byrnes put his hands down a girl’s pants; he never liked Byrnes, despite re-hiring him after he retired.

Mr Hayes is still working at another Catholic school.

Byrnes is behind bars.

Mr Hayes told the commission he thought it was more appropriate to refer allegations against Byrnes to the Catholic Education Office than the police.

Former principal Terence Hayes has told a commission he thought it was more appropriate to refer allegations against Byrnes to the Catholic Education Office than the police.

“The view that I formed was that principals were of the understanding that the CEO was the first port of call, and that the Bishop must not be compromised,” Mr Hayes said.

“The CEO told the principals that they were there to help us.”

Byrnes’ crimes occured within the past decade, despite protocols in place in the school for how to deal with sexual abuse. The inquiry heard how the first girl who came to his office with a complaint was forced to re-enact the abuse using her father’s hands in Mr Hayes’s office.

Junior Counsel Assisting Andrew Naylor, SC, asked Mr Hayes whether the girl had been asked to ``demonstrate’’ her allegations after describing them in detail.

``Am I correct in understanding that after (the girl) had described to you the conduct of Mr Byrnes, you asked her to demonstrate what he did using her father?’’ he said.

Mr Hayes replied that that wasn’t true.

Gerard Byrnes has been accused of assaulting 13 girls at a Toowoomba school. Picture: Channel Nine.

``Cathy (Ms Long) asked the girl to demonstrate,’’ he corrected, refering to the school’s student protection officer.

``Did you think that that was an appropriate request to make, given what had been said about the kind of conduct that Mr Byrnes allegedly engaged in?’’ Mr Naylor asked.

Mr Hayes said he believed it was.

The Commission heard how Mr Hayes’ letter to the CEO detailing the allegations omitted accusations that Gerard Byrnes had not just put hands inside the shirts of girls, but down their pants.

Mr Hayes said he was in a hurry to get the letter out to the CEO and did not deliberately omit the allegations.

Junior Counsel Assisting Andrew Naylor, SC, questioned why Mr Hayes did not tell authorities, as required by state law and the school’s own child protection manual.

Assistant principal Megan Wagstaff told the commission she was not equipped with the skills to deal with the “catastrophe’’ which hit the school in 2008.

Mr Hayes insisted he did follow procedure by informing the Catholic Education Office, speaking with Brynes and writing a letter to Byrnes.

He denied a suggestion by Mr Naylor that he said to Byrnes during that meeting: “Let’s hope it will all blow over, see you next term.’’

“Absolutely not, I refute that, that is wrong, I never said that,” Mr Hayes said.

Mr Hayes said he did not actively seek to re-hire Byrnes as a supply teacher in July of 2008 but had to balance the school’s need for staff with his own dislike of Byrnes.

Assistant principal Megan Wagstaff told the commission she was not equipped with the skills to deal with the “catastrophe’’ which hit the school in 2008.

Commissioner Jennifer Coate asked: “Do you think you were properly equipped as the deputy principal of the school in terms of knowledge, training, and understanding of this complex area...?

“No I was not,’’ replied Ms Wagstaff

Ms Wagstaff said while she followed protocol in reporting the first complaint of Byrnes’ behaviour in 2007 to the principal, she did not follow procedure correctly.

“There’s a different procedure that needs to be followed,” she said.

Ms Wagstaff said she left off dates and names of children in her initial report.

“Knowing what we know now, it could have been handled very differently,” she said.

The inquiry resumes today.