AUSTRALIA
The Age
May 9, 2013
Jason Gordon
A former police officer and current state MP, Troy Grant, told a special commission of inquiry into the handling of child sex abuse claims that he never used the term ”Catholic mafia” and had never encountered any interference from police during his investigations into paedophilia by priests.
Mr Grant described Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox as ”a meticulous investigator” but he denied ever saying to him that a ”Catholic mafia” existed within the ranks of police in Newcastle, where the inquiry is being held.
On Monday, Mr Fox had told the inquiry that Mr Grant had warned him about a ”Catholic mafia”. The claim was made in the context that police investigations into the alleged cover-up of child sex abuse by Catholic priests had been shelved or hampered.
As a police officer, Mr Grant investigated and charged paedophile priest Vince Ryan in 1995. Mr Ryan was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in jail for offences relating to 31 victims.
”I’m sure I would remember using the term,” he told the commission on Wednesday. ”It’s a great phrase, a cracker of a phrase that I might use in my role as a politician.”
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