Families SA paedophile Shannon McCoole subject of four complaints a month before his arrest
FAMILIES SA carer Shannon McCoole was the subject of four individual complaints about his conduct in one month just prior to his arrest in 2014, the Nyland report reveals.
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FAMILIES SA carer Shannon McCoole was the subject of four individual complaints about his conduct in one month just prior to his arrest in 2014, the Nyland report reveals.
The complaints, which were never fully investigated, followed a major internal investigation into his conduct with a young girl, in June 2013, that was not referred to police for a proper investigation because McCoole’s supervisor regarded it as “minor.’’
This was despite the young girl telling one supervisor “my bottom hurts’ after McCoole had been alone with her in a care house bedroom.
While McCoole was suspended for the duration of the internal inquiry, he was returned to work and promoted by his supervisor. Six months later, in June, 2014, he was arrested on multiple child-sex and child-pornography charges involving six children in state care and one other. He is now serving a 35-year sentence with a 28-year non-parole period.
Just days after the Government revealed details of McCoole’s arrest in mid-2014, The Advertiser revealed he had been the subject of the major internal investigation — despite assurances from then-minister Jennifer Rankine and departmental chief David Waterford two days earlier there was nothing untoward surrounding McCoole.
In response to The Advertiser’s revelation, Premier Jay Weatherill told journalists at a press conference “you can’t assume the truth of today’s report.’’
However, at a press conference on Monday, Mr Weatherill conceded the community had been misled over McCoole’s background and that The Advertiser’s report was accurate.
Mr Waterford’s resignation was prompted by a series of questions from The Advertiser about McCoole’s pre-employment testing. After rereading the file, Mr Waterford realised he had overlooked vital information and had misled then-minister Ms Rankine.
“The community was misled. The Advertiser obviously had different information which was accurate,’’ Mr Weatherill said.
In her report, Commissioner Nyland also examines McCoole’s pre-employment testing and states he “received the worst possible rating’’ in two of the test measures.
A psychological report also revealed “possible concerns associated with drug and alcohol use and gender and racial bias ...’’
While two supervisors concluded that McCoole should not be advanced for an interview, the senior panel member overruled them. Despite his test results, they did not challenge him.
In her conclusion in the McCoole case study, Ms Nyland concedes that it “cannot be said definitively that at any one point in time McCoole’s offending could have been prevented.’’
“However, it can be said that the accumulation of all the deficiencies revealed in this case study culminated in a workplace that failed to properly protect children against the risk of child sexual abuse from within,’’ she states.
“This situation developed in circumstances where the risk of abuse within institutional environments had long been part of the public consciousness, where a body of understanding had developed about preventive practices, and where warnings from within the organisation identified ongoing risk.
“Financial pressures restricted the capacity to change where needs were identified, and the unplanned advancement of residential care provision contributed to the situation. However,
these matters are not solely responsible for what occurred.
“Serious deficits within the child protection system permitted McCoole to begin employment at nannySA, and to offend at work over a period of about three ½ years.
“At the time he started working with children, McCoole had a clearly developed sexual
interest in children, and predatory motives towards them.’’
