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Families SA carer from Barossa Valley arrested and charged with multiple sex offences

EXCLUSIVE: A Families SA carer has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of abusing children in his care — after earlier being cleared by an internal inquiry.

Shannon McCoole: the Families SA paedophile

A FAMILIES SA carer who allegedly abused young children in his care has been arrested and charged with multiple sex offences.

In an explosive development that will rock the embattled department, the Sunday Mail can reveal the man was recently cleared after being “red-flagged’’ during a major internal review of carers conducted by former police commissioner Mal Hyde.

The Barossa Valley man, aged in his 30s, was one of 25 foster and residential carers suspended after an intensive review of all carers conducted in late 2014 as a direct result of the Shannon McCoole sex abuse scandal.

He was suspended in late 2014 as a result of the Hyde review, subjected to a thorough, top-level investigation, and then allowed to continue as a carer after being “cleared’’ in early 2015.

The Sunday Mail can reveal he was suspended again in August this year after concerns were raised about his alleged conduct with children.

The allegations relate to his conduct after being returned to work in 2015.

Since August, detectives have been conducting a covert investigation into the residential carer’s activities, which has also involved interviewing numerous children who have had contact with him, to determine the extent of any suspected offending.

The man was arrested by detectives on Saturday and charged with multiple sex offences.

It is understood the offending involves more than one victim.

Families SA paedophile Shannon McCoole has been jailed ror 35 years.
Families SA paedophile Shannon McCoole has been jailed ror 35 years.

His arrest will raise serious questions over the thoroughness of the investigations that were conducted into all 25 carers who were suspended after the Hyde review.

A spokesman for Families SA, which changed its name to the Child Protection Department on November 1, on Saturday night confirmed the man charged with sex offences was an employee of the department.

“The employee was immediately directed away from the workplace when the allegations were recorded,” the spokesman said.

“A review of his employment history is being undertaken.

“The alleged victims are being supported by the department and their wellbeing is being monitored.

“Families are being notified of the arrest. The department is co-operating with police and assisting with inquiries.

“As the matter is before the court, the department is unable to provide further information.”

The spokesman said no information would be provided on the nature of the review investigations, who conducted them, or how many carers were either sacked or returned to work after the review.

Senior police on Saturday declined to comment on the investigation, which is being conducted in conjunction with Families SA’s Incident Management Directorate, which is largely comprised of former SA Police detectives and analysts.

Former SA police commissioner Mal Hyde conducted a review of Families SA carers that “red-flagged” the charged carer — but he was subsequently cleared by an internal inquiry.
Former SA police commissioner Mal Hyde conducted a review of Families SA carers that “red-flagged” the charged carer — but he was subsequently cleared by an internal inquiry.

The Sunday Mail has been aware of the sensitive investigation for several weeks but opted not to publish details to avoid the investigation being impeded in any way.

Despite being suspended in August, the charged man was not aware of the police investigation into his alleged activities until his arrest by detectives on Saturday.

The latest revelations are more concerning than the bungle that allowed convicted Families SA carer Shannon McCoole to slip through the net in 2013 because the accused man was returned to work while Families SA carers were under the most intense scrutiny possible.

The Advertiser revealed in 2014 that McCoole was investigated a year before his arrest for inappropriate behaviour with a female toddler in his care, before being investigated by his colleagues and returned to work.

It was subsequently revealed that McCoole had been the subject of another four individual complaints about his conduct in the month prior to his arrest in June 2014.

The complaints, which were never fully investigated, followed a poorly conducted internal investigation into his conduct with the young girl in June 2013 that was not referred to police for a proper investigation because McCoole’s supervisor regarded it as “minor”.

In August 2015, McCoole, who ran an international paedophile website, was sentenced to 35 years’ jail with a non-parole period of 28 years after pleading guilty to a shocking list of sex offences committed against seven young children in his care while working for Families SA between 2011 and 2014.

"We failed in our responsibility to keep these and other children safe from harm"

He appealed his sentence but subsequently withdrew it.

The unprecedented audit of about 500 Families SA staff who supervise children in residential care homes was ordered by the former Education and Child Development Minister Jennifer Rankine in the wake of the McCoole scandal.

The audit was conducted by an independent firm of organisational psychologists, based on the records held by Families SA on each carer’s recruitment records and employment history.

It was completed under the direction of Mr Hyde.

The review identified 102 workers who required scrutiny.

Of those, 77 were considered a “high concern’’ while the remaining 25 were “red-flagged’’ and suspended immediately from working with children.

At the time, then Education and Child Development Department chief executive Tony Harrison said none of the concerns about the staff related to a “propensity for sexual abuse’’ but would not give any specific details about the concerns surrounding them that warranted investigation.

Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/families-sa-carer-from-barossa-valley-arrested-and-charged-with-multiple-sex-offences/news-story/552795e2074f00a9f95e2bd7ad1cdf70