|
No tears for a dead monster: Pedophile Paul Ronald Goldsmith’s victims face lifetime of trauma
By Patrick Billings
PEOPLE are told not to speak ill of the dead. So the joy that victims of Paul Ronald Goldsmith experienced on learning of his death was admittedly a “bizarre feeling”. But their lives have not been normal since the man dubbed Tasmania’s worst paedophile unleashed his reign of terror in the 1970s. Goldsmith died two months ago in Tanzania where he fled to in 2012, reportedly with troubling plans to work with disadvantaged children. It is not known how the 71-year-old died. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade wouldn’t elaborate for privacy reasons after confirming the death on Monday. However, the Mercury has been told he had broken his leg which may have led to complications in the impoverished East African country. Goldsmith, a trainee Catholic priest-turned-successful insurer, was jailed in 2005 for sexually abusing 20 teenage boys aged between 13 and 16. Born in Hobart, he settled in the North-West, committing his offences against boys from that area between 1974 and 1985 while coaching athletics at Marist Regional College in Burnie. A father and uncle to three of Goldsmith’s victims spoke to the Mercury about the relief after learning of his death. “When someone dies you’re not supposed to be happy, but I am,” Richard — not his real name — said. “It was the end of a long journey for us, my boys and myself. “They just hope he suffered like they suffered.” Goldsmith’s modus operandi was luring impressionable teenagers with cigarettes and alcohol, allowing them to drive his car with personalised numberplates PG1111. An arrogant and malicious predator, Goldsmith would boast to victims about his business successes that saw him made a national executive of the Life Underwriters Association. He kept a large bowl of money on a table at his Port Sorell home to impress them. “He used to con the young blokes into coming down to his house. He used to give them beer and money, he conned them into a false sense of security,” Richard said. “One of my sons, we thought we were going to lose him ... it was very close.” His son’s feelings were commonplace among Goldsmith’s victims who found themselves preyed upon by a respected community stalwart. During Goldsmith’s sentencing Justice Peter Evans noted his “criminal conduct has undermined, if not destroyed, the belief of many of your victims in some of the worthy matters you stood for or espoused,” he said. “It is impossible to fully and accurately assess the harm you have done.” The victim impact statements were littered with references to suffering, anxiety, loss of trust, guilt, shame, a lack of self-worth and fear of being alone with other men. Some victims had attempted suicide or suffered suicidal thoughts by that stage. Richard said he wanted to kill Goldsmith when his evil deeds were finally found out. “I’m lucky I’m not doing time. I was going to go and kill him but they stopped me and said ‘don’t do it, you’ll ruin the family and we’ll never get a result’,” he said. He wasn’t the only one who considered taking matters into his own hands. In 2012 Fairfax Media reported that in 1988 a victim had hidden outside Goldsmith’s home with a loaded rifle. The boy, who was 13 when violated by Goldsmith, waited for an hour for his attacker but didn’t go through with it. Among the details of Goldsmith’s heinous crimes are the standard hallmarks of grooming — associating with religious and youth groups, meeting children through sporting clubs and befriending the parents of victims. Despite his prolific offending it took decades for the law to catch up with him. Victim advocacy group Beyond Abuse was instrumental in bringing Goldsmith to justice. Early attempts by police were frustrated by lack of evidence. Beyond Abuse set up a phone hotline that provided the critical mass of evidence to launch a prosecution. The organisation’s Steven Fisher took what he knew to former police commissioner Richard McCreadie, who put two detectives on it fulltime. Goldsmith almost slipped through their fingers but they nabbed him in Perth getting ready to board a flight for Tanzania, Mr Fisher said. He was extradited to Tasmania to face 62 charges. Goldsmith initially pleaded not guilty and faced a committal hearing, at which Mr Fisher gave evidence.
“He was willing to put his victim through everything again — that’s the type of arrogant bastard he was,” he said. “If there was a sniff of a trial he would take it because he had the money. I was actually surprised [when he pleaded guilty], I don’t think the committal went that well.” Charges of using a drug, in this case alcohol, to facilitate his crimes and possessing child pornography were dropped when he changed his plea to guilty on 42 sexual assaults. Mr Fisher isn’t the only one who maintains those charged were “just the tip of the iceberg”. In December 2005 Goldsmith was sentenced in the Supreme Court to 6½ years. He was paroled after four years, prompting Beyond Abuse to raise concerns Goldsmith was planning to leave Australia. He had apparently bragged to inmates about wanting to work with children in Africa and even learnt Swahili in Risdon Prison. The parole board said Goldsmith had no such plans. But when his parole finished Goldsmith left for Tanzania. Victims were sick when they heard the news. “I lost faith in the government when he left Australia,” Richard said. Mr Fisher believes he had the money to buy the kind of immunity a serial paedophile like Goldsmith could need in a country such as Tanzania. What he was up to in Tanzania until his death in May is unknown.
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.