Maitland-Newcastle 1949 to 2014: A state commission found that bishops knew of a child abuser for decades and never reported him; a letter of 1976 speaks of a "cover-up"

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

1. Father Denis McAlinden, a priest of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, according to the commission abused children for five decades and was a chronic paedophile offender; the earliest reported incident dates from 1949, the latest from 1996. The diocese's child protection unit had contact with at least 28 victims. Because he was sent "on loan" at times to remote and overseas places where he had access to children, the number of victims cannot be determined; the commission considers more than a hundred readily conceivable. McAlinden died in a nursing home in 2005 without ever having been charged in New South Wales. Father James Fletcher abused above all altar boys; the commission knows of at least five victims, each abused over months or years.
   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 6, Abs. 1.14

   „McAlinden had a history of sexually abusing children during five decades. He was a chronic paedophile offender.“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 6, Abs. 1.14

   „The earliest reported incident of sexual abuse by him was in 1949 and the latest in 1996.“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 6, Abs. 1.15

   „The Diocese’s child protection unit, Zimmerman Services (established in 2007), has had contact with at least 28 such victims.“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 6, Abs. 1.15

   „Given his prolific offending, it is readily conceivable that the total number of McAlinden’s victims is more than a hundred.“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 6, Abs. 1.15

   „McAlinden died in a nursing home in 2005, without having ever been charged with offences in New South Wales.“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 6, Abs. 1.16

   „Fletcher also had an extensive history of sexually abusing children in the Diocese, exclusively abusing young males and particularly altar boys.“

How were they charged and sentenced?

1. On 17 May 1976 Monsignor Patrick Cotter, then head of the diocese, wrote to Bishop-elect Clarke that McAlinden had "an inclination to interfere (touching only) with young girls aged 7 to 12" and after a long session had admitted to "indiscretions". Cotter endorsed McAlinden's proposal to cover up the circumstances of his "resignation" by sending him to Western Australia for one or two years; the commission writes that the diocese thereby agreed to execute what Cotter himself referred to as a "cover-up". Instead McAlinden flew to Papua New Guinea on a flight paid for by a diocesan clergy fund; later he went to Western Australia, in 1984 to Hamilton in New Zealand, where he abused another young girl, and back to parishes of the diocese.
   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 17, Abs. 1.75

   „an inclination to interfere (touching only) with young girls aged 7 to 12“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 14, Abs. 1.69

   „agreed to execute what Cotter referred to as a“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 17, Abs. 1.78

   „went instead to Papua New Guinea on a flight paid for by the Maitland Clergy Central Fund but invoiced to Clarke“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 17, Abs. 1.79

   „From March to December 1984 McAlinden was posted to Hamilton, New Zealand, where he sexually abused another young girl.“

2. Father Brian Lucas, a lawyer and at the time of the report General Secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, received admissions from McAlinden in 1993 and reported them to Bishop Clarke but not to police. According to the commission, his general practice was deliberately not to take notes of his meetings with accused priests, so as to avoid creating documentary records. Bishop Michael Malone, head of the diocese from 1995 to 2011, knew of the allegations from 1995 and had a file on McAlinden that he described in 2002 as "so big you can't jump over it"; only in August 1999 did he blind-report McAlinden to police. According to the commission it took more than 40 years for the diocese to report any aspect of McAlinden's offending to police.
   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 15, Abs. 1.69

   „Consistent with his stated practice, Lucas reported these admissions to Clarke.“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 15, Abs. 1.69

   „Lucas failed to report McAlinden to the police.“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 16, Abs. 1.69

   „Malone arranged to blind-report McAlinden to the police in August 1999“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 15, Abs. 1.69

   „This was consistent with his general practice of deliberately not taking notes of his meetings with priests accused of child sexual abuse. The purpose of this practice was to avoid the creation of documentary records“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 16, Abs. 1.69

   „Further, in his office Malone had a file on McAlinden that he described in 2002 as“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 16, Abs. 1.69

   „so big you can’t jump over it“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 16, Abs. 1.69

   „This was the first report by the Diocese to the police relating to McAlinden.“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 17, Abs. 1.74

   „It took more than 40 years, however, for the Diocese to report to police any aspect of McAlinden’s offending history“

What happened to those affected?

1. On 4 June 2002 Bishop Malone alerted Father Fletcher to a police investigation of him and disclosed the victim who had complained; Malone accepted before the commission that this was inappropriate. Fletcher was convicted in 2004 of nine offences against a former altar boy and died in gaol in January 2006 after a stroke. The commission found sufficient evidence warranting the prosecution of a senior church official for concealment in the Fletcher case; the details are in the confidential volume.
   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 17, Abs. 1.73

   „On 4 June 2002 Malone alerted Fletcher to a police investigation of him (Fletcher) and disclosed that AH (a Fletcher victim) was the complainant.“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 6, Abs. 1.17

   „Fletcher was ultimately convicted and sentenced in New South Wales in 2004, having been found to have committed nine offences relating to the sexual abuse of a minor who had been an altar boy.“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 6, Abs. 1.17

   „Fletcher died in January 2006 after having suffered a stroke in gaol.“

   Evidence: State of New South Wales, Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC, Bd. 1, S. 16, Abs. 1.70

   „there is sufficient evidence warranting the prosecution of a senior church official in connection with the concealment of child sexual abuse relating to Fletcher“