Pic Hearing: Police Officer on Catholic Church Child Abuse Panel Not Forced to Report, Inquiry Hears
By Jessica Kidd
A senior police officer who sat on a panel set up by the Catholic Church to investigate allegations of child sexual abuse was not obligated to report the information she received, an inquiry has heard. The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) was investigating the conduct of Inspector Elizabeth Cullen while she was a member of the church's Professional Standards Resource Group (PSRG) to determine if it amounted to police misconduct. The inquiry was also examining whether the information sharing arrangement between the Catholic Church and New South Wales Police, in the form of blind reports, breached mandatory reporting laws set out in the Crimes Act. Inspector Elizabeth Cullen (then a senior sergeant) was appointed to the PSRG from 1998 until 2005. The PSRG was set up by the church in 1997 to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy, working within the church's Professional Standards Office (PSO). Inspector Cullen's former commander, Kim McGee (formerly McKay), who headed up the police Child Protection Squad from June 2003 until September 2005 told the PIC that she did not expect Inspector Cullen to report information she was given in PSRG meetings. Ms McGee was shown confidential evidence detailing an alleged case of violent sexual assault which was tabled at a PSRG meeting where Inspector Cullen was present. Counsel assisting the commission Kristina Stern asked Ms McGee whether she believed Inspector Cullen should have reported the case to police. She was there to give advice and her role wasn't to take reports of crime. Inspector Cullen's former Commander, Kim McGee (formerly McKay) "No, because she was there as a committee liaison officer," Ms McGee replied. "She was there to give advice and her role wasn't to take reports of crime." Ms McGee said this did not warrant an investigation. "It's just information at this stage; it's not something you would put down as a report of crime," she said. She also admitted she had never asked Inspector Cullen what was discussed at PSRG meetings and she was not aware the PSRG conducted its own investigations into allegations it received. Ms McGee's evidence elicited murmurs and comments from the public gallery when she was questioned about the church's use of blind reports to inform police of cases of alleged abuse. The former commander told the commission blind reports had been used by various organisations since the 1980s to inform NSW Police of cases of abuse. Former police commander breaks down in witness box "The process of blind reports is not new or only relates to the Catholic Church," she said. But Ms McGee admitted she never questioned the use of blind reports and never questioned the PSO about how much information it withheld when it reported allegations of abuse. "My understanding was that they were regulated by the law," she said. "I understood that mandatory reporting was occurring." I understood that mandatory reporting was occurring. Inspector Cullen's former Commander, Kim McGee (formerly McKay) Ms Stern asked whether Ms McGee was aware that the PSO often held more information on an alleged matter than they disclosed to police in a blind report. "I can't remember if I turned my mind to it or not; I can't remember," she said. After almost three hours of questioning, Ms McGee broke down in tears as she described how hard she and Inspector Cullen worked to investigate cases of abuse. Ms McGee told the commission it was especially hard to convince Indigenous victims of abuse to report the matter. "We worked so hard to get them to report the crime," she said. "Other than the Muslim ladies, they were the hardest group to get to come forward." The inquiry is expected to conclude tomorrow afternoon.
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