AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times
Megan Levy
Breaking news reporter
A senior detective who blew the whistle on an alleged police cover-up of sex abuse in the Catholic Church said he had received threatening messages on police letterhead since speaking out on an issue that he acknowledged would end his career in the force.
But after Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a sweeping royal commission into child sex abuse on Monday, Detective Inspector Peter Fox said he felt vindicated and satisfied that the thousands of voices of abuse victims would finally be heard.
The senior investigator’s explosive allegations on Lateline last week – that the Catholic Church had covered up crimes of paedophile priests and silenced police investigations in the Newcastle-Hunter area of New South Wales – helped to trigger the royal commission, which will probe organisations ranging from church and state authorities to the Boy Scouts and sports groups.
Detective Inspector Fox said the royal commission was a “wonderful result”. He said the push for the inquiry had affected him and his family, including his wife, who suffered a nervous break-down after receiving threatening letters.
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