AUSTRALIA
SBS
Source: AAP
4 JUN 2015
The sex abuse royal commission has detailed a litany of failures against a south Australian school, the police and the church over their handling of sexual abuse of disabled children.
In March last year the inquiry investigated Adelaide’s St Ann’s Special School and its bus driver, Brian Perkins, who sexually abused intellectually disabled children between 1986 and 1991.
A report by the commission into the case says police failed to issue a warrant for Perkins’ arrest in 1991, despite having information about three prior convictions, the nature of sexual allegations against him and the risk he posed of further sexual offences against children.
Despite police seizing child pornography from Perkins’ in 1993, the photos were not examined.
“The photographs strengthened the case against Mr Perkins in relation to (one victim) and revealed another offence against (another victim), a former St Ann’s student who had been in the care of Mr Perkins,” the report said.
“The failure by SAPOL to fully investigate material seized from Mr Perkins in 1993 contributed to the years of delay in bringing Mr Perkins to trial.”
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