St Andrew’s Hostel Katanning: St Andrew’s Hostel How the system and society failed our children and society failed the system How St Andrew’s Hostel Katanning: How the system and society failed our children A Special Inquiry into the response of allegations of sexual abuse government agencies and officials to The Hon Peter Blaxell ISBN 978-0-7307-0254-2 Public Sector Commission Dumas House, 2 Havelock Street, West Perth 6005 Locked Bag 3002, West Perth WA 6872 Telephone: (08) 6552 8500 Fax: (08) 6552 8710 Email: [email protected] Website: www.publicsector.wa.gov.au Accessibility Copies of this document are available in alternative formats upon request. St Andrew's Hostel Katanning: How the system and society failed our children Message from the Inquirer This Inquiry addresses two essential questions: Firstly, why there were so few complaints made about Dennis McKenna's offending at St Andrew's Hostel during the 15 years while it was happening. Secondly, why it was that those few complaints that were made were not acted upon. The evidence generally shows that there were many occasions when public officials heard allegations or rumours about sexual misconduct at the Hostel but decided to ignore them. Too many people suspected what was happening at the Hostel but did nothing to stop it. In some instances the people who heard allegations not only refused to believe them, but actively rejected them (even to the extent of threatening legal proceedings for defamation). Fortunately, a few brave individuals were willing to swim against the tide of community opinion to persist with their concerns and complaints even though they were not listened to. In the end they were listened to and Dennis McKenna's offending was brought to an end. A similar situation existed at St Christopher's Hostel in Northam during the 1970s, and complaints and allegations about the Warden's misconduct towards students were not properly responded to. Ultimately steps were taken to remove the Warden, but this action was not taken soon enough and was still inadequate. The simple task undertaken by the Inquiry in examining these matters has been to establish the truth of what happened in relation to each hostel. In my view this task has been largely accomplished, and although a few small areas of speculation remain, a very clear picture has emerged. (However, it is of course for others to judge whether or not this is so). I acknowledge the support given by the Premier of Western Australia and the Public Sector Commissioner who established this Special Inquiry under the Public Sector Management Act 1994. The Western Australian Public Sector generally has also provided its support via the numerous agencies that have released staff to the Inquiry, and the many individual public officials who have carried out searches, compiled records, and made submissions. The Inquiry would not have been able to make the headway that it has without the assistance of many members of the public who came forward with information pertinent to my terms of reference. I also acknowledge all of those people still deeply affected by the unimaginable events that this Inquiry has had to examine, and express my gratitude for their support. Hon Peter Blaxell SPECIAL INQUIRER St Andrew's Hostel Katanning: How the system and society failed our children 1 Introduction 1 2 The ambit of the Inquiry 3 3 Conducting the Inquiry 7 4 Information received and the importance of government records 15 5 Background matters 23 6 The convictions relating to St Andrew's Hostel 29 7 The extent of alleged offending 33 8 Fear and favourhow the Hostel operated 39 9 Grooming the community 51 10 The credibility of witnesses generally 61 Missed opportunities 11.1 1976 Peter Potter: The first person to do something 65 11.2 1975-1978 Maude Bruce the Hostel laundress 69 11.3 1976: Keith Stephensthe father who found his son in bed with 71 McKenna 11.4 1976: Livia Bentleythe teacher who tried to tell her principal 81 11.5 1980: Bruce Carmichael's request to John Renk 83 11.6 1980 onwards: Noel Parkinthe parent who told anyone and everyone 87 11.7 1983: The 'S' Affair the squashing of an official investigation 95 11.8 1983-1985: John Peacock the Board member who conducted his own 109 investigation 11.9 Early 1985: Mary Pilatti 113 11.10 Mid 1985: The young teacher who told his Primary School principal 115 11.11 Late 1985: The barmaid who was angry about "kiddie fiddling" 119 11.12 1985-1986: The Trezise saga 125 11.13 Late 1985: The Westrek affair 137 11.14 1986: Deborah Wallwork the girl who was undaunted 173 11.15 1986: Tom Fisher and Robert Hendrya conversation at a tennis 179 tournament 11.16 1986-1987: Kylie Haddow and Diane Renton- a note handed to a school 183 official 11.17 1983-1987: Jody Brown and Rhonda Mooretwo girls tell their 193 teachers 11.18 1987: Rhonda Moore tries to tell her principal 201 The Hon Peter Blaxell 11.19 1988: Niko la MacLennanthe clash between a school psychologist and 203 her principal 11.20 1990: Todd Jefferisthe brave young lad who stood his ground 211 11.21 1991: The events surrounding the removal of Neil McKenna from the 227 Hostel 12 St Christopher's Hostel, Northam 233 13 The handling of other episodes of sexual misconduct 263 14 General findings concerning St Andrew's Hostel 273 15 General findings in respect of the Country High School Hostels 279 Authority, its Chairman and its staff 16 Systemic factors which allowed Dennis McKenna's offending to 285 continue 17 The impact of the abuse 295 18 The legal environment prior to 1990 299 19 What has changed since 1990 325 20 Further improvementRecommendations 337 21 Conclusion 345 APPENDICES St Andrew's Hostel Katanning: How the system and society failed our children 1. Introduction Until 2009, the St Andrew's Hostel at Katanning offered residential care to students from outlying areas who were attending the Katanning Senior High School. The Hostel opened in 1964 and with increasing student numbers, Katanning soon became "a booming, busy town with parents from the surrounding areas who had kids at the hostel coming into town on Fridays and Mondays to collect and drop off their children." 1 Between 1975 and 1990 the warden of the Hostel was Dennis John McKenna ("Dennis"), and for the last five years of that period, the senior male supervisor was his brother Neil Vincent McKenna ("Neil"). 2 These two men held very high level responsibilities for the wellbeing of the students who were entrusted to their care. However, they each breached those responsibilities as well as the trust placed in them by parents, by committing serious offences of sexual abuse against some students. In that regard, Dennis was convicted of a total of 29 offences of a serious sexual nature committed on 11 male students between 1977 and 1990. In 2012, Neil was convicted of three offences committed on a female student in 1991. Dennis was first convicted of 19 offences following a District Court trial in 1991, and it was not until 2011 when he pleaded guilty to a further 10 offences that the full picture started to emerge.3 Following Dennis' pleas of "guilty" in August 2011 there was extensive media coverage which raised the question of why his vast offending had been able to continue for a lengthy period. Questions were asked in Parliament, and a number of concerned people came forward to allege that certain public officials had been made aware of the suspected criminal behaviour by Dennis at various times during the 15 year period it was occurring. Consequently, the Premier, the Hon. Colin Barnett MLA directed the Public Sector Commissioner to arrange for aSpecial Inquiry under s.24H(2) of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 ("the PSM Act"). This in turn resulted in my appointment on 22 November 2011 as Special Inquirer to conduct an Inquiry into "the response of government agencies and officials in regard to allegations of sexual abuse at St Andrew's Hostel in Katanning". My terms of reference for the Inquiry were as follows: 1.Examine when any allegations were made, who they were made to, what action was taken in response to those allegations, and the appropriateness of any action taken. 2. Consider any evidence of allegations of sexual abuse by any person at or connected with the hostel or related organisations. 3.Report with: 1 Potter, P 2012, Inquiry Statement, in possession of the Inquiry, 12 June, p.4. 2 The McKennas are referred to by their first names in order to distinguish between them, and not as any sign of familiarity or informality. 3See Chapter 6. 1 The Hon Peter Blaxell Findings about why the behaviour of staff the subject of allegations at St Andrews Hostel was able to continue for an extended period; and Recommendations on: oany disciplinary action that should be taken against any public official as a consequence of the findings; and oany changes that should be made to the policies, procedures or operations of relevant government agencies as a consequence of the findings. Any issues which go to criminal behaviour that arise in the course of the inquiry will be referred to the WA Police. This report makes a number of findings in respect of some individual public officers and government agencies. Before making these findings, the Inquiry received information from the public, sourced agency records, undertook extensive investigations, and had evidence presented by way of statements or under oath (or affirmation).