Families SA cleared child sex predator Shannon McCoole of ‘raping’ girl despite being caught by co-worker

IN harrowing evidence, a Royal Commission has heard Families SA child predator Shannon McCoole was cleared despite a co-worker catching him “raping” a young girl in state care. WARNING: Graphic content

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FAMILIES SA child predator Shannon McCoole was cleared of inappropriate behaviour, then promoted, despite a co-worker catching him “raping” a young girl in state care.

In tearful and harrowing testimony to a Royal Commission into the failings of the state’s child protection departments, the worker said she remains traumatised by the incident.

McCoole was suspended for three months as the incident was investigated, but cleared and promoted not long after.

The co-worker said she was putting a young boy to bed in a nearby bedroom when she heard McCoole lie on the bed with her, lower his voice and reference “tickle”.

She said she became very concerned because she could hear the girl’s nervous laugh.

“It was an uncomfortable, contrived attempt at laughing, as though she was possibly being tickled and she was uncomfortable with it and was attempting to laugh it off,” she said.

She said she then heard the girl say “stop, don’t tickle me there”.

Concerned, the worker said she put the book she was reading to the boy down and told him she would be back before making her way towards the girl’s room.

When she got there, McCoole brushed past her at the doorway and she saw the girl on all fours on the bed with a look of “sheer terror, shock, her face, her eyes were wide-eyed and extremely still”.

“I saw (the girl) on all fours on top of her blankets and she was staring at the doorway and then looked up at me.

“She appeared to be in great shock and not moving and not speaking to me. At the time I was confused, he was supposed to be reading her a story, it was very dark, she was supposed to be in bed, not on top of the bed and I was unsure of what was going on.”

She said that as she tried to put the covers over the girl, she told her “my bottom hurts”.

McCoole, 33, has been sentenced to 35 years’ jail for crimes against multiple vulnerable children in state care.

His crimes, committed while the head of an international child pornography website that required members to post fresh abuse pictures or video every 30 days, sparked the Royal Commission.

The co-worker said they both heard McCoole’s footsteps as he made his way back to the room, then the girl slid back under the blankets so only her eyes were visible.

She said McCoole physically pushed past her when he came into the room and offered the girl a bracelet.

The co-worker said McCoole had then proceeded to intimidate her by walking her out of the room so closely behind her that she could feel his chest.

“I was saying to myself be very careful because you are in danger,” she said.

She told the commission she had not made a report the next day as she was terrified and still processing what she had seen.

“I had to process in my mind, I don’t know if you have ever walked in on someone being raped. “It was extremely traumatic.”

The co-worker said she had not put the details about McCoole’s intimidation after the incident in her original report as the seriousness of her account of the girl being abused would overshadow it.

“I did not honestly feel that it was necessary to put that in the report that clearly, from myself, clearly stated that something had occurred in that bedroom along the lines of (the girl’s) body being abused.”

She told the commission she did not have faith the incident would be treated appropriately by her superiors.

“I was working in child protection and to believe that someone in child protection was a paedophile was quite shocking. I had had conversations with seniors who were at the house and I did not find them to be approachable in situations much, much, of lesser concern than this.

“It was very clear, I had a clear understanding that amongst agency workers that we were not given very much credit for our ability.”

She said she had heard of a previous incident where an agency worker was falsely accused of hurting a child in care as a consequence for reporting a senior Families SA employee as “stoned” and unable to walk down a hallway while at a house.

“He (McCoole) was considered one of them — that was one of the terms used by them, he was ‘one of ours’.”

Her evidence continues on Thursday.