Sex offender Craig Treloar appears at Knox Grammar abuse inquiry

By Eleanor Hall
ABC - World Today
February 25, 2015

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2015/s4186664.htm

ELEANOR HALL: After two days of evidence from former students of Sydney's Knox Grammar school, a convicted offender is now appearing at the royal commission into child sexual abuse.

Craig Treloar was sentenced to two years in jail in 2009 for assault offences dating back more than two decades.

Thomas Oriti is covering the commission hearings and joins us now.

Thomas, tell us more about today's witness.

THOMAS ORITI: Well Eleanor, when a group of former Knox students first reported their abuse to police in 2009, five teachers were convicted of child sex offences.

Four of them received suspended sentences, or good behaviour bonds, and only one of them went to jail.

That was Craig Treloar, who in fact was still teaching at Knox Grammar until his arrest. In total, he was there for 27 years.

Treloar was convicted of multiple assault charges, as well as possessing child pornography, and was sentenced to a non-parole period of two years.

Now, Craig Treloar's evidence at today's hearing has been highly anticipated, partly because it's rare for a convicted perpetrator to appear at the royal commission.

Many are in jail or they're deceased but also because his appearance comes after two days of disturbing evidence.

The hearing has been told that in the 1980s, Craig Treloar invited young boys into his room at the Knox boarding house and showed them pornographic videos.

He also asked the boys for sex and took photos of them naked.

This abuse wasn't only in the 1980s. The mother of a former student has told the commission that Treloar abused her son in 2002 when he was 10-years-old and she broke down in tears at the hearing as she explained the impact of that abuse.

Craig Treloar has only been giving evidence for a short time, but he's told the commission that when he was employed to supervise the students in one of the school's boarding houses back in 1982, he never made a formal application and was never asked for any references.

He's also confirmed to counsel assisting David Lloyd that in 1987, he admitted to the former headmaster, Dr Ian Paterson, that he'd been showing pornography to students, but there was no investigation, and the matter wasn't referred to police.

DAVID LLOYD: Did he ask you whether that was the extent of your misconduct in relation to boys?

CRAIG TRELOAR: He may have, I can't be certain.

The only thing I can say is that had he asked me, had I done anything beyond showing the videos, I most likely would have said no because I would've been too scared.

ELEANOR HALL: Extraordinary evidence there from that former Knox Grammar teacher and convicted child sex offender Craig Treloar.

Thomas, is the commission expecting to hear from other former teachers from Knox Grammar?

THOMAS ORITI: Yes we are. So the commission also heard evidence from Damien Vance this morning, another former boarding master who was arrested in 2009 after he was accused of touching a student in a room underneath the Knox chapel almost 20 years earlier.

Vance gave evidence that after the student originally complained, he was simply asked to move interstate, and was told to do so quickly because the child's parents were preparing to visit the school.

He was released on a good behaviour bond.

We're also expecting to hear from Christopher Fotis, another former teacher.

Now I must point out that Mr Fotis has not been the subject of criminal proceedings; he has simply been named as a former resident master who was removed from the house shortly after a man wearing a balaclava assaulted a boy who was sleeping in his bed in 1988.

Now why Mr Fotis was removed remains a mystery. He'll be given the opportunity to explain the situation at this hearing as well.

ELEANOR HALL: Thomas Oriti, our reporter covering the commission, the royal commission into child sexual abuse there, thank you.