- Sex victims would talk
- By Gary Hughes
- The Age
- 09/07/2004 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: admin ( 100 articles in 2004 )
Gail McHardy, left, Reina Michaelson and Hetty Johnston at the news conference yesterday.
Sex abuse victims are prepared to testify to a royal commission about Victorian police involvement in organised pedophilia and child pornography, child abuse groups said yesterday.
Victims also alleged that at least one former senior politician had been involved in a pedophile ring.
But the advocates said the victims were too frightened to provide evidence to police and would trust only a royal commission.
The heads of the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program, Bravehearts and Parents Victoria also challenged Premier Steve Bracks to table in Parliament a damning report by the Ombudsman on police mishandling of child sex abuse cases so the public could see its full findings.
"The public has a right to know what is in this report. The public should know," said Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston.
Police rejected the need for a royal commission, promising any allegations involving officers would be fully investigated.
"If they want an investigation with prosecutions, they have to deal with the Victoria Police," said Assistant Commissioner for Crime Simon Overland.
"I don't care who the perpetrator is. I don't care whether it's a police officer or whether it's a member of the public or whether it's someone in a high-profile position. If the allegation is made we will take it on board and we will investigate it."
But Mr Overland conceded that the findings of the Ombudsman's report, which detailed how police had failed to adequately investigate four previous cases of child sex abuse, had damaged trust between the force and sexual assault victims.
"We appreciate that there are issues of trust," he said.
The child sex abuse campaigners made their call for a royal commission into both police corruption and child sex abuse yesterday after The Age exclusively revealed details of the Ombudsman's report. It said two of the state's most senior sexual assault investigators may have lied under oath during the inquiry and another police officer had described a 12-year-old female victim as a "little slut".
One detective blamed the same schoolgirl for instigating the alleged sexual assault on her by a 63-year-old man, describing such a situation as "not unusual".
Police have reopened the four cases examined by the Ombudsman. Two senior members of the sexual crimes squad are facing disciplinary charges and possible transfer.
But the Ombudsman's office said it would not release the report publicly because it named alleged offenders and could identify victims.
The director of the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program, Dr Reina Michaelson, said she had dealt with more than half a dozen victims abused by organised pedophile rings as far back as the 1970s. She said they reported seeing significant police corruption and protection of pedophiles.
"I'm working with victims whose experience included police presence, police actually involved in the sexual offences that were committed against them," Dr Michaelson said.
Gail McHardy, president of Parents Victoria, which represents the parents of children at state schools, said she was disturbed at the Ombudsman's finding that allegations of sexual misconduct by a teacher had not been adequately investigated.
She said the teacher was still working at a Melbourne secondary college and should be suspended immediately while the case was reinvestigated by police.
"Parents need to know that when they send their sons and daughters to school, they are safe," Ms McHardy said.
Mr Overland said he and Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon would meet Dr Michaelson in the next few days to discuss her concerns.
He said there was already a complex criminal investigation running into further allegations of organised pedophilia made by Dr Michaelson, but these did not involve police.
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