Child Sex Abuse Royal Commission: Newcastle Anglican Church Director "Harassed, Had Home Attacked"

By Dan Cox
ABC News
August 5, 2016

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-11/royal-commission-newcastle-anglican-diocese/7719400

A former police officer brought in to clean up the Anglican church in Newcastle, which had faced years of child sexual abuse allegations, says he has "no doubt" harassing phone calls and attacks on his home were related to his work.

Michael Elliott told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse he was appointed the diocese's professional standards director in 2009.

The commission's Newcastle case study is examining the way the local Anglican diocese responded to allegations of child sexual abuse made against clergy and lay members of the church.

Mr Elliott told the commission he had not been in the job long when the Bishop at the time, Brian Farran, handed him a bundle of envelopes containing allegations of child sexual abuse.

The so-called brown envelopes have been a focus of the Newcastle case study.

"There were 36 envelopes, and he told me that they had been stored in the safe in his office - that was the former practice - and that he wanted for me to have those," Mr Elliott said.

Counsel assisting the commission Naomi Sharp asked: "Did he tell you what those envelopes related to?"

Mr Elliott replied: "Only that they related to professional standards, and complaint matters."

"I started to review them and ascertained that there were issues with a lot of them that concerned me."

Mr Elliott told the commission he had "endured a high level of interference" in most aspects of his work.

Ms Sharp asked: "Isolation, bullying, policy changes, under resourcing, reviews, oversight, personal attack, and lack of support?"

He replied: "That's true."

Mr Elliott said his cars had been vandalised at least 20 times, his home had been attacked, with pot plants overturned and clothes taken off the line and strewn around the backyard.

He told the hearings he had also received harassing telephone calls and text messages, and his dog never returned after going missing.

"I have no doubt that they're linked to my work within the diocese," Mr Elliott said.

No discipline from church despite convictions, inquiry hears

Mr Elliott said in the course of his work over the past eight years he referred to the A4, yellow envelopes and used the information inside.

"There was a practice of sealing them with a length of sticky tape across the opening of the envelope, and people would sign if they had to cut and access the envelope," he said.

PHOTO: Mr Elliott said he was handed 36 envelopes shortly after starting in the position. (Supplied: Royal Commission)

Mr Elliott said white labels detailed what dates the envelopes had been accessed and by whom, and whether the allegations had been referred to police.

He said they were labelled with the date the complaint was lodged, the name of the complainant and respondent, and the contact or support person who took the complaint.

Mr Elliott said inside were letters and file notes, internal church communications, and some of them had court documents.

He also told the public hearings the church's risk management strategies before 2014 were lacking.

"During the course of my work, and including the review of the yellow envelopes, it was apparent that there was a number of clergy and lay people associated with the church that had criminal convictions - in many respects child sex abuse offences - where there had been no internal or additional outcomes with regard to risk management or discipline."

Inquiry told of cathedral's 'group of influence'

A man, who can only be identified as CKH, told the hearing he was 15 years old when he was first sexually abused by the defrocked former Dean of Newcastle, Graeme Lawrence.

Mr Lawrence was the rector at St Alban's in 1981 when CKH said the abuse began.

PHOTO: Newcastle Dean Graeme Lawrence was defrocked in 2012 after a recommendation from the church's professional standards board. (Fairfax Media: Stefan Moore)

He denied the allegations but was defrocked in 2012 following a recommendation from the church's professional standards board.

Lachlan Gyles SC, the barrister for current Newcastle Bishop Greg Thompson, asked Mr Elliott about Mr Lawrence's supporters at the time.

"Was there a group of parishioners who came out strongly and publicly in support of Graeme Lawrence?" Mr Gyles asked.

Mr Elliott replied: "Yes, that's correct."

He said the group was based mostly at Newcastle's Christ Church Cathedral, where Mr Lawrence was the Dean.

Mr Gyles said: "Can I suggest to you that, during the period between the start of 2011 and when that decision was ultimately made in September 2012, there was a group within the diocese who were advocating for and publicly supporting Lawrence?"

"That group included, didn't it, men and women of some prominence in the church, and men and women of some prominence in business in Newcastle, and men and women who might be described as people of influence in this area?"

Mr Elliott replied: "Yes."

The commission heard the group "made things difficult" for Bishop Farran after Mr Lawrence was defrocked, and that pressure had continued on the current diocesan leadership team.