Paedophile Steven Larkins got welfare agency job two months before police checks were introduced, royal commission told

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By court reporter Jamelle Wells, Rebecca Armitage and staff

The royal commission into child sex abuse has heard a paedophile was employed by a welfare agency just two months before the ‘working with children’ check was introduced.

The commission is examining how a number of agencies responded to allegations against former scoutmaster and CEO of the Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Service (HACS) Steven Larkins.

The Children’s Guardian Kerryn Boland told the hearing that Larkins was employed by the children’s service in May 2000, but the current ‘working with children’ check came into affect in July that year.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.