Solicitor denies tampering

9 News
August 08, 2016

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/08/08/03/34/anglican-clergy-in-group-sex-allegation

A document used to halt the trial of a priest charged with child sex abuse may have been altered by someone attached to the Anglican diocese of Newcastle in the Hunter region of NSW, an inquiry has been told.

A register of services produced at the 1991 trial of a priest given the pseudonym CKC was subpoenaed by his defence team and led to the case being dropped by the prosecution.

On Monday solicitor Keith Allen who acted for CKC denied he had doctored the register when he was shown it at a rectory before it was produced at the trial.

Mr Allen has come under intense questioning for a second day at a child sex abuse commission hearing into the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle response to decades of child sex abuse by its clergy and lay workers.

The commission has heard evidence priest CKC faced trial for sexual assault on two brothers but it was "no billed" by the DPP after the register was produced.

Last week the commission was told by NSW state lawyer Ian Temby QC, CKC may face a re-trial.

On Monday Mr Allen was asked about evidence by a church rector who said in 1991 he came to see the service register record of CKCs church activities.

Allegations have been made to the commission the register had been tampered with.

Mr Allen denied categorically that he tampered with it.

"I had neither a biro, a pencil, a rubber or any other thing and I just merely looked at the register on the table," he said.

Counsel advising the commission, Naomi Sharp, asked him if he in any way had tampered with the document?

Mr Allen: "No".

He also said the former registrar of the diocese, Peter Mitchell, could not have tampered with it because it remained at the rectory until it was produced in court.

Mr Allen said he had no suspicions that somebody tampered with the document.

He also said he had no recollection of a conversation reported by another witness who said he was in a car with Mr Allen and Peter Mitchell who had a conversation in which one of them sniggered when the other said "Yeah, it's funny how those documents went missing".

Mr Allen was pressed on what he meant when he told the current business manager of the diocese of Newcastle that Bishop Richard Appleby was a "good operator".

Bishop Appleby, who was an auxiliary bishop for almost 10 years until 1992, has already told the commission he had "absolutely no recollection" of being told of "abhorrent sexual abuse" by clergy.

Mr Allen said he only meant that Bishop Appleby was efficient not that he was "careful" in what he put on record about child sex abuse.

Earlier on Monday, Mr Allen was questioned about acting for the church while advising a victim's solicitor who was suing the diocese and arranging a fraudulent date on a letter of resignation so a priest who molested a 14-year-old boy could be shown to have a clear record.