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Sunshine Coast home to hundreds of sex offenders, says cop
By Mark Furler
A SUNSHINE Coast church accused of failing to take action against the man who killed Daniel Morcombe says it has removed four pedophiles from its congregation in recent years. Two of those were sent to jail. And a senior police officer, who has worked for more than 15 years in child protection and also attends the large Woombye church, said hundreds of registered sex offenders were living on the Sunshine Coast and thousands more across Queensland. In 2011, during the Daniel Morcombe inquest, police revealed they had more than 500 new persons of interest in relation to Daniel. At the time of Daniel's disappearance there were reports, which police refused to confirm at the time, of more than 70 registered pedophiles in the Palmwoods-Woombye area. One of them was Brett Peter Cowan, who had moved to the Sunshine Coast after being released from jail halfway through a seven-year term for raping a six-year-old boy in Darwin and leaving him for dead. The victim, "David'', told Sunday Night that he thought he was going to die after he was left tied up. He managed to get free. He says he is angry Cowan was ever released back into the community. "He should not have got out,'' the victim said. Cowan was released on parole after becoming 'a Christian' and doing a sexual offenders rehabilitation program. The senior detective who spoke to APN yesterday said he had never been made aware of a complaint that Cowan had tried to rape a woman who was attending what was then Christian Outreach Centre, Woombye. Melissa Bridges, then Melissa Holman, told News Corp that Cowan had forced himself on her at his home after he had picked her up to take her to a street ministry soup kitchen in Nambour. She was 15 at the time. He had made the excuse he needed to stop for a shower and came out with just a towel around him, she said. Cowan had been living at Bli Bli with his uncle and aunt, who were pastors at Suncoast Christian Church at the time. Ms Bridges said the church's senior pastor, Chas Gullo, had been told about the attempted rape but had not taken action - a claim Dr Gullo has strongly denied. "I had no knowledge of any alleged incident involving this young lady," Dr Gullo said in a statement. "If I had been made aware of this allegation, relevant authorities would have been notified immediately. "Sexual abuse is not tolerated and will not be covered up. Our church will always continue to help, support and love people who have been the victim of sexual abuse." Dr Gullo told media yesterday that he remembered being called by Ms Bridges about three years ago, when Cowan was a person of interest in the Daniel Morcombe inquest. She had asked about a meeting over the allegation. He said he remembered no mention of attempted rape but that Ms Bridges had complained that Cowan made a "pass" at her. Dr Gullo said he was aware that Cowan had served time in jail for a rape in Darwin but he had been accepted into the church because he was undergoing rehabilitation through the parole system. RELATED: Uncle who took Cowan in says parole system failed Daniel He said he had assumed the rape involved a woman, not a child. Dr Gullo admits he should have asked more questions at the time. Had he been aware of Cowan's full history, he said Cowan would never have been allowed in the church. A policeman, who did not want to be named, said he believed the church had a strong record on protecting its children. "They have an active child protection policy here and they follow it quite strongly," he said. He said he had confronted pedophiles he had known through his police work at the church and they had soon left. "They realise basically the game is up and they have been caught out and they are no longer anonymous," he said. The police officer said hundreds of registered sex offenders were living on the Sunshine Coast and thousands more across Queensland. He said churches were targets, along with any organisation involving children. The church and college campus hosts the start of the Walk for Daniel each year and is an active supporter of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation. Dr Gullo said while his church offered people a second chance, he would never put children at risk by allowing known pedophiles anywhere on the church or school campus. Chas Gullo and wife to hand over to son and daughter-in-law from June AFTER 17 years at the helm of one of the Sunshine Coast's biggest churches, Chas and Fran Gullo announced yesterday they will hand over their positions to their son and his wife at the end of June. The announcement came on the day of a front page story in a Brisbane newspaper about Dr Gullo. Dr Gullo, 63, said he had been planning the move since last September, after his son Jonathan and wife Chloe agreed to take on the senior roles, after spending 14 months overseas. The church announcement went ahead, despite a media storm surrounding Suncoast over its acceptance of Brett Peter Cowan into its congregation. An emotional Dr Gullo, who was given a standing ovation after his announcement, said he and his family had been "blessed" to be part of an amazing ministry. "In the midst of the issues taking place in the community, we are still going ahead with God's plan for his church - strong families, safe city - that's our vision and that's what we do," he said. Dr Gullo said he would remain on pastoral staff for years to come with oversight over the college.
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