AUSTRALIA
The Eastern Tribune
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH, 2014
BRISBANE: A Former Catholic primary school principal was fired and charged, after he failed to report sex abuse complaints against a teacher to police as he did not want to compromise a bishop.
In Brisbane, at a hearing by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Terence Hayes gave evidence against teacher Gerard Byrnes. Hayes was the principal of a Toowoomba Catholic primary school where 13 young girls were sexually abused by their teacher Gerard Byrnes. Byrnes was then arrested and was later sentenced for 10 years for molesting and raping 13 girls at the school between the age of eight and 10.
Mr Hayes said he reported the complaints to his superiors at the Catholic Education Office (CEO) when the first complaints surfaced in 2007, but he did not inform the police or child protection officials.
When Andrew Naylor SC, the Junior Counsel Assisting questioned Mr Hayes over the reason for not informing the authorities. It is obligatory by state law and the child protection manual issued to all Catholic schools in the diocese to notify the police of any unlawful activity. Mr Hayes told the hearing that the principals believe the CEO was the first port of call and that the bishop must not be compromised.
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