Docs Regrets Its Pedophile "Error"

By Dan Box
The Australian
September 18, 2013

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/docs-regrets-its-pedophile-error/story-e6frgczx-1226721300694

A SENIOR NSW government executive has said she deeply regrets the "inappropriate administrative error" in which a warning about the pedophile boss of an Aboriginal children's service was sent confidentially to the man himself.

The Working With Children Check, which warned Steven Larkins posed a "medium risk", was marked "private and confidential" and sent to Larkins himself as the general manager of the Hunter Aboriginal Children's Service.

Evidence before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse shows Larkins was later able to challenge this finding with false claims and fraudulent documents, and continue in a role where he had court-appointed parental responsibility for 19 Aboriginal children.

A report last year by the NSW Ombudsman, tendered to the commission, quotes the chief executive of the state's Department of Community Services, Maree Walk, as saying her department "acknowledges this was an inappropriate administrative error".

"Community Services deeply regrets the mistake and . . . wishes to express its deep regret for this action and understands that this error had very serious outcomes for children," Ms Walk was quoted as saying.

The report also states Ms Walk, who is expected to give evidence to the commission today, has committed to providing details of those children in Larkins's care to the state's Director of Public Prosecutions.

Larkins, who was convicted last year of indecently assaulting children, possessing child abuse material, and fraud, was also able to apply successfully for one of these children to live with him full-time, documents tendered to the commission reveal.

Giving evidence to the commission yesterday, two serving NSW police officers described how the initial 1997 investigation of Larkins foundered amid delays and confusion over whether they had been instructed to prosecute him.

Despite receiving formal advice that they should charge Larkins with indecent assault, they mistakenly told one of his victims a prosecution would not be going ahead.

Asked to explain the apparent delays in an investigation that took a year before a brief of evidence was passed to the DPP, Sergeant Nigel Turney said: "I wouldn't think it was acceptable, but it was never questioned."

Earlier in the hearing the former chief executive of Scouts Australia NSW, Peter Olah, said he personally reported allegations against Larkins to the police and to the local joint investigation response team, which included staff from DOCS.

Despite this, Larkins was able to continue working in children's services, he told the commission.

"I think I'd taken reasonable steps to see Mr Larkins brought to justice," Mr Olah said. "I couldn't be responsible for the internal workings of DOCS."

The inquiry has previously heard Larkins was also able to continue working with the Scouts and to have unsupervised access to children after senior figures in the organisation received allegations about his behaviour.

Asked if he was aware of other similar failures within Scouts Australia, Mr Olah replied: "In terms of children being hurt? Absolutely."

The organisation had since revised its child protection policies and procedures, he said.