WA Government confirms 50 victims of child sex abuse in Pilbara, fewer than previously reported
- Type of protection : Granting release
- Details
- Category: Paedophile Rings
- Created: Wednesday, 29 August 2018 20:46
- Written by Rebecca Parish - ABC Pilbara
The State Government has attempted to quietly correct the record about the extent of child sexual abuse in the Pilbara, lowering a widely reported figure.
Stephen Dawson MLC, speaking on behalf of the Police Minister, said in Parliament last week there were 50 victims involved in current child sex abuse cases — a stark comparison to the figure of 184 that had been used previously.
The revelation came in response to questions from Opposition child protection spokesman Nick Goiran, following ongoing enquiries about the state of investigations into the issue.
After questions about the disparity in figures, a spokesman for Police Minister Michelle Roberts said today the figure of 184 victims had never been provided by the Minister.
The number of child sex abuse victims was revealed in 2017 by media outlets in relation to the ongoing investigation Operation Fledermaus, and has never been corrected by the Government.
And the figures were specifically attributed to the remote Pilbara town of Roebourne.
Because of ongoing police investigations, the figure has never been clearly substantiated by anyone, and has been strongly questioned by Roebourne residents.
Number of victims 'a cancer' on community
Then-WA police commissioner Karl O'Callaghan labelled the number of victims, perpetrators and charges as staggering and described the issue as "a cancer" on the community.
However, investigations by the ABC unearthed that not only were the widely reported figures incorrect, but there were issues with the 349 charges laid under Operation Fledermaus in the Pilbara region that were initially preferred by officers.
In one such case, a 54-year-old Karratha man who was charged with 144 of those 349 charges was sentenced on just four charges earlier this year.
It was said at the time that the charges were "compounded into four overarching charges", and Andrew Clive Wilmott was sentenced in May to 13 years in jail for the repeated rape of a nine-year-old girl.
It is understood that there are concerns over the remaining 200 charges.
A source close to the investigation said concerns related to charges being laid without the necessary groundwork to support prosecutions.
'Does anyone know what is going on?'
Mr Goiran, who was alerted to the disparity by the ABC before the figures were confirmed in Parliament last week, said it had to be asked if anyone in the State Government knew what was happening in child protection in Roebourne and the West Pilbara.
"The original figure of 184 victims was given by police and has never, even after one year of constant questioning in Parliament, been challenged by either the Minister for Child Protection Simone McGurk or the Minister for Police Michelle Roberts," he said.
"After a year of questioning in Parliament, Minister McGurk finally, through a newspaper column, gave a qualified assurance that she had no evidence of any child victims residing in the care of anyone charged with child sex offences.
"I find it hard to have confidence in the Minister's assurance given that after one year of responding to questions about 184 victims, we learn from the Minister for Police that there are actually 50 victims.
"Where there ever 184 victims? Who were the other 134 children Minister McGurk was assuring us were safe?"
Figures 'simply not true'
Speaking about the revelation, one Roebourne woman who did not wish to be named said if people were to believe the initial figures, then it would indicate most of the men in Roebourne were perpetrators.
She added that was simply not true.
"It seems to be [that] Roebourne was singled out as the only place this has happened," she said.
"That upsets the community. [They] don't deny it's happening, but we're talking about Wickham, Point Samson, Karratha and Dampier.
"It looks so bad if you take the statistics we've been presented."
In August last year, Roebourne Ngarluma man Tyson Mowarin also strongly disputed the reported level of sexual abuse in Roebourne.
Operation has always included more locations, police say
In response to questions today, Pilbara Police superintendent Paul Coombes defended the work of officers on the ground who had worked tirelessly with the community to get the cases to court.
He said Operation Fledermaus had always incorporated more locations than Roebourne.
"The Pilbara Joint Response Team is responsible for investigating child abuse throughout the Pilbara district," Superintendent Coombes said.
"[The team] is a joint agency investigation team comprising local police, detectives and specialist child investigators.
"In partnership with the Department of Communities, Operation Fledermaus relates to child abuse investigations geographically focused in the Karratha, Wickham and Roebourne sub-districts.
"Inquiries are also underway further afield in the Pilbara."
Child Protection Minister Simone McGurk said, "From the very start, Roebourne is a very small community and as a result, would not talk about the detail as it could result in the identification of children and young people affected".
"There is no Parliamentary record of me mentioning the number of victims identified as a result of Operation Fledermaus."
Following many discussions, the ABC noted several sources stressed it was important to understand that while only 50 child victims were currently engaged in charges against alleged perpetrators, there were many who had not been formally engaged in potential prosecutions.
Investigations into child sex abuse in the Pilbara are ongoing, and so far 58 offenders have been charged.
Source : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-29/child-sex-abuse-victim-numbers-pilbara-lower-than-reported/10178848
