Advertisement

Families SA rocked by ‘horrific’ rape allegations

Jul 22, 2014

Families SA has been rocked by revelations an Out of School Hours Care employee has been arrested and charged by police with seven counts of rape.

Police said today the investigation had uncovered “horrific” details.

A SAPOL spokesman said it was likely “there will be more victims”, and all victims were of pre-school age.

The revelations follow last year’s damning findings of the Debelle Inquiry into the Education Department’s botched response to child sex abuse.

That inquiry was commissioned after it was revealed in parliament in October 2012 that parents were not told for two years about the 2010 rape of a young girl at a western suburbs primary school by an Out of School Hours Care worker.

Reacting today to the latest revelations, Premier Weatherill said: “I expect it to be necessary for there to be a Royal Commission into this matter.”

Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said he would support the government’s move.

“We strongly support that; we’ll do everything possible for a Royal Commission to be established as soon as possible,” he said.

“Today is not a day for political point scoring. Our thoughts are with the families, the police investigating the cases.”

Police have outlined how an investigation into the possession of child pornography led to the discovery of the man’s activities.

“At the time of the alleged offending he was employed with Families SA caring for children in a government-run residential-care facility and at an Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) service,” SAPOL said in a joint statement with the Education Department.

“Police will allege that all the victims were in the man’s care at the residential facility.

“To date no victims have been identified from the OSHC service.”

There are eight residential-care units in Adelaide run by Families SA, caring for some of the state’s most traumatised children.

Earlier this year Pam Simmons, the Guardian for Children and Young People, warned children in the units were at greater risk of abuse or running away because the government was yet to fulfil its promise to close decades-old facilities and build appropriate housing.

Police said that on June 6 that Special Crime Investigation Branch investigators received information nominating the man as someone allegedly disseminating child exploitation material.

“An investigation began immediately and detectives searched his house on June 9.

“At that point police were not aware of any contact offending between the alleged offender and child victims, and the focus of the investigation related to the possession and dissemination of child exploitation material.

“However, during the search of his home, police found evidence of contact offending.

“This led to seven charges of unlawful sexual intercourse being laid on June 10.

“When the charges were laid, however, investigators were not aware of the identities of the victims, the location where the offences were committed or the timeframe of the offending.”

Investigations soon uncovered a massive haul of photographic images and video.

“To date, detectives from Special Crime Investigation Branch have had to analyse more than 100,000 still images and 600 video files,” the statement said.

“Families SA has been assisting police to identify the victims.

“Late on Wednesday, 16 July, investigators were able to positively identify seven victims.

“The identity process has been complex as it has involved comparing the images of the victims against documentary material provided by Families SA.

“Police and Families SA are currently informing the parents of the seven children of the alleged offending.”

David Waterford, the recntly appointed deputy chief executive (child safety) for the Education Department, said the parents and caregivers of the children would be provided with full support from Families SA and Child Protection Services.

“We are working very closely with SA Police to visit the families and carers and ensure they have all the support they need.

“Our department will also be working with the school that provided the out-of-school-hours and vacation-care services to make sure that parents are also notified of the alleged offending.

“For an organisation that has the care and concern of vulnerable children as its foremost priority, this is a disturbing and horrifying matter.”

Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Dickson said the investigation was not complete and further victims may be identified.

“The offending we have identified so far occurred in an 18-month period between mid 2011 and the end of 2012.

“At this point we have not identified any other offenders, but we will not know if the alleged offender was acting alone or with others until the investigation is complete.

“As a police officer and as a father, I am abhorred by these crimes.

“This investigation can best be described as horrific – horrific for the victims and their families and a terrible task for the police who have worked tirelessly to review these images.”

The alleged offender is due to appear next in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on August 19.

Local News Matters
Advertisement
Copyright © 2024 InDaily.
All rights reserved.