AUSTRALIA
lewisblase.net
Lewis Blayse
The spotlight on paedophile clergy is gradually widening to encompass those who protected them. In particular, debate is increasing on the issue of failure to report the crime of child sexual abuse. Some jurisdictions exempt the churches from this requirement, and that situation is very likely to change after the Royal Commission.
Misprision of a felony, or cover-up, is a charge possible for some church officials, and indeed, officials of other community organisations, such as the Boy Scouts. The difficulty will be in proving the case adequately for the courts. If past practice is any guide, these officials will spend large amounts of their organisations’ money on expensive lawyers to defend them against any charges.
The giveaway that many of these organisations knew of the child sexual abuse problem is that, as early as the 1980s, they routinely took out insurance policies to cover claims of victims. This was a mistake for them.
To guarantee payouts, they normally had to inform the insurers of the risks. The Victorian enquiry has already touched on this matter. Other examples exist from the past. Since the Royal Commission can subpoena documents of this kind, they may make for interesting reading as to what exactly these officials knew about the paedophiles under their control.
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