Whistleblower’s office searched: inquiry

AUSTRALIA
9 News

A senior police whistleblower’s office was searched while he was away on leave, an inquiry into the alleged cover-up of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the NSW Hunter Valley will hear.

Counsel assisting the inquiry, Julia Lonergan SC, told its first hearing in Newcastle on Monday that evidence relating to Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox would be presented to the inquiry.

Ms Lonergan said evidence would show Insp Fox – whose allegations sparked the commission – pursued investigations that he kept to himself, rather than logging through official police channels.

In 2012 he was removed from any investigative role into sexual abuse in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese, and later that year he had become so concerned by the “absence of any obvious investigations” that he appeared on ABC TV’s Lateline program to air his claims.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.