Child institutions should be monitored by national organisation, says child abuse victim's mother

By Candice Marcus
7 News
August 20, 2014

https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/24758957/child-institutions-should-be-monitored-by-national-organisation-says-child-abuse-victims-mother/

Helen Gitsham, left, speaks at the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.

A woman whose son was sexually abused by a paedophile school bus driver in Adelaide more than two decades ago says she wants a national organisation set up to monitor child institutions.

Convicted paedophile Brian Perkins abused children while he was employed without a background check as a bus driver for the St Ann's special school in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Helen Gitsham's son was abused by Perkins and, in a written submission to a federal royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, said the Catholic Church's response was inadequate.

She said a Catholic Church inquiry that was announced in 2002 was not independent, transparent or comprehensive, and the process had not been scrutinised by anyone other than those associated with the church itself.

"From the very beginning of the inquiry the intention of the Catholic Church was to seek advice on legal matters and liability, not to determine whether the school tried to identify children who may have been abused, nor how families and children were affected and followed up at the time and since," Mrs Gitsham said.

"From the results of the inquiry's report, it seems to us that the Catholic Church had little or no interest in what happened to our children and how they were affected, but rather the protection of their own interests."

Mrs Gitcham said the inquiry was handled in a way that illustrated why "organisations and institutions that rely on and promote their own self-regulatory practices and internal inquiries, cannot be trusted to undertake these tasks with truth and transparency."

She said a national body should should oversee all allegations of sex abuse reported at institutions, conduct audits, collect annual reports, investigate complaints of non-compliance with policies and procedures, and review institute procedures every three years.

Counsel assisting the royal commission, Sophie David, criticised the way the abuse was handled in her own submission.

She said the initial police investigation was botched and then stalled for a decade after Perkins skipped his bail and fled to Queensland.

He was jailed in 2003 and died in prison.

"The shortcomings in the police investigation and pursuit of Mr Perkins contributed to the years of delay in bringing Mr Perkins to trial," Ms David said.

"This delay meant that the parents of former students remained unaware of the possible causes of disturbing changes in their children's behaviour."

Ms David said that in 1998, after becoming aware of Perkins' whereabouts, police decided not to extradite him from Queensland.

This was based on inaccurate information about the seriousness of the charge and a view that an intellectually disabled victim would not be a reliable witness.

Ms David said the extradition of Perkins only happened after parents of children at St Ann's became aware of sexual misconduct allegations in 2001.

They contacted the director of the Catholic Education Office (CEO), sparking a series of meetings between the parents, the CEO and the police.

Perkins was finally extradited in March 2002 after pressure from the Archbishop.

"The prosecution of Mr Perkins in 2002 relied on evidence that had been in the possession of police since 1993," Ms David said.

In its written response, the state of South Australia, on behalf of SA Police (SAPOL), said the computer systems in the early 90s were "basic".

It said it was a time-consuming process to check a person's criminal history before going to their house.

The Royal Commission heard the officers who first went to Perkins' house - where they discovered undeveloped photographs of naked children - were not aware there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

The state also submitted that even if Perkins had been arrested when police initially attended his house, it was likely he would have been granted bail and "would likely have absconded in any event", as he later did.

The state also defended SAPOL's decision not to identify other potential victims.

"The state submits that the reason that SAPOL did not pursue the list of persons who had had contact with Perkins, and did not liaise further with St Ann's, was that during late 1991, SAPOL made a decision that the investigation should be 'filed' as Perkins could not be located - not because SAPOL was concerned to prevent the disclosure of allegations that had been made against Perkins."

The Catholic Church's Truth Justice and Healing Council submitted that while the Church "acknowledged failings" in the initial handling of the abuse, it should be praised for its actions after 2001 once the Archbishop became aware of the situation.

"The Church parties propose to accept a number of the findings ... which are critical of the Church parties and the response to the abuse," the council submitted.

"However, the Church parties also submit that some aspects of their response after 2001 warrant positive findings, which could serve as examples of how institutions could work more effectively to respond to victims."

It said the church had learnt from its past mistakes in responding to such issues.

"The Church parties accept that hurt was caused to some families in relation to how their particular complaints were handled, in particular, by failing to engage with them in the development of the process," it said.

"The Commission's case study has demonstrated the importance of greater engagement, and the Archdiocese has acknowledged that it would take a more consultative approach in the future."