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Detective Peter Fox Suspicious over Being Removed from Priest Case

By Dan Box
The Australian
May 7, 2013

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/i-lied-about-abuse-files-detective-peter-fox-tells-commission/story-fngburq5-1226636709195

[with video]

A NSW detective who previously claimed he was ordered to stop investigating a pedophile priest has said it was reasonable for the case to be given to another detective, but he was disappointed not to be involved.

A NSW special commission of inquiry is investigating claims by the policeman, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox, that he was ordered "to stand down from the case" of the alleged cover-up of pedophile crimes committed by Father Denis McAlinden in Newcastle, NSW.

The inquiry heard this morning that NSW Police established a Strike Force in 2010 to investigate the allegations, operating under the control of the city's regional police Local Area Command.

Detective Fox, who was assigned to a different police command, had been conducting his own private investigation of the allegations, without telling his bosses or making any record of this work on the police system.

He was subsequently told to stop this work, to provide any relevant documents to the Strike Force and to stop contacting a local reporter who he had been briefing on his own investigation.

Giving evidence this morning, Detective Fox said he didn't think it was "unreasonable" for Newcastle police to run the inquiry but "I would have liked to be included because I was passionate about the matter and I wanted to make sure it was handled properly."

Detective Fox has also told the inquiry he was suspicious of his bosses in the police.

"What was going on was quite sinister. In my belief I was never given a logical answer as to why I was being removed and I think a lot of what was going on ... was against general police policy," he said.

Records of  Detective Fox's inquiries were not registered onto the police computer system, Detective Fox said, nor was any record of his close co-operation with Fairfax journalist Joanne McCarthy, who he kept updated on what he was doing.

Detective Fox earlier admitted he lied about the documents to his police superiors, telling them at a meeting he had accidentally left them in his office.

"I deliberately kept them to myself but I realised there was now knowledge by other police that I had them," he told the inquiry.

The hearing continues.




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