AUSTRALIA
Maitland Mercury
Krystal Sellars
26 Jul 2016
A Hunter Valley pastor is leading a push for legislative change for harsher penalties for people who fail to report child sexual abuse to police.
Pastor Bob Cotton from Maitland Christian Church says the current penalty for concealing a serious indictable offence – a maximum of two years’ imprisonment – is inadequate punishment for those who cover-up the sexual abuse of children.
Pastor Cotton said he was spurred into action after a close friend, who had been abused by Anglican church worker James Michael Brown in Kurri Kurri, died of drug and alcohol abuse.
“The ancillary offences do not fit the facts of the cases, and ‘conceal serious indictable offence’ does not reflect the criminality,” Pastor Cotton said.
“It is only a local court matter and frankly, it is an insult to the victims.
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