Abuse complaints filed away in brown envelope

Sky News
August 8, 2016

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/wa/2016/08/08/abuse-complaints-filed-away-in-brown-envelope.html

The Anglican Archbishop of Perth Roger Herft had a 'brown paper envelope' system to deal with child sex abuse complaints when he was bishop in a NSW Anglican diocese where abuse was widespread.

The envelopes containing information about child sex abuse allegations and other matters brought to the attention of the diocese of Newcastle were dealt with by a review committee.

They were created as a more secret filing system by Bishop Herft, solicitor Keith Allen told a child sex abuse royal commission on Monday.

Mr Allen, a former trustee of the diocese, was questioned about advice he gave the church in 2015 in readiness for the royal commission hearing which began last week.

In that advice, recorded by the current business manager of the diocese, John Cleary, Mr Allen suggested Archbishop Herft would be in trouble over the brown paper envelopes.

Mr Cleary also recorded Mr Allen saying the brown paper envelope system led to a culture of not reporting child sex abuse matters to the police and a situation where disciplining a priest was never on the radar.

Mr Allen came under intense cross-examination for a second day after evidence showed his close association with the diocese led to advice aimed at protecting the church's reputation and minimising responses to child sex abuse by clergy.

Commission chair Peter McClellan asked Mr Allen if the notes recorded by John Cleary suggested that he and others were planning how to effectively 'defend the diocese against the investigation by the royal commission'.

On Monday, Mr Allen was also asked about his defence of Stephen Gray, a clergyman who was sentenced in 1991 to a two-year good behaviour bond for the abuse of a 14-year-old boy.

The solicitor admitted on Monday he destroyed a letter of resignation from Gray so it could be replaced with one dated before he faced court for abusing the boy - this was to give the appearance of a clean slate if he looked for work elsewhere.

Mr Allen said he regarded Gray as a 'dangerous sexual predator' who was involved in a particularly unpleasant incident.

He was asked why he brought Lamingtons to one church meeting called to discuss Gray.

Justice McClellan asked him if it was a 'joke' because Gray was said to have had sex with an underage male on a table strewn with Lamingtons.

Mr Allen denied this was the case but agreed 'it was probably a joke one should not have made'.