Sex-crime inmate quizzed on Tyrrell

A man who coaxed disabled people to perform sex acts has been interviewed by police investigating the disappearance of William Tyrrell.

A man who coaxed intellectually disabled people to perform sex acts on him has been interviewed in prison by police investigating the disappearance of William Tyrrell.

Robert Donohoe, 42, is a former member of the Taree SES. He took part in the ground search after William went missing on September 12, 2014.

He was accused in 2011 of sexually assaulting three young people, all of whom had severe cognitive disabilities. He met his victims through the SES.

He was arrested four days after William went missing, and later convicted on five of an ­initial 13 charges against two of the young men, telling police he didn’t know it was wrong to ­encourage the intellectually disabled to have sex with him.

Donohoe is the first of the previously unnamed “persons of interest” to be identified at the inquest into William’s likely homicide.

The public and the media have been cautioned against the vilification of those named at the inquest. None has been charged, and there is no evidence linking ­Donohoe to the boy’s disappearance. He refused to say a word, ­beyond his name and age, when he was first interviewed in ­prison.

Police wanted to talk to ­Donohoe in part because he was working in 2014 at the Lakewood Caltex, about 10 minutes from Kendall where William was staying when he disappeared.

He drove a small white van, similar to a station wagon, in which he would sleep between Caltex shifts, rather than drive home to Taree, where he was living at the time.

The court heard he would park his vehicle near the Kendall swimming pool, or near the Kendall showgrounds, and stay there overnight.

William disappeared from outside a house in Benaroon Drive, Kendall, about 10.30am on September 12, 2014.

His foster mother has told police that she recalled seeing a small white station wagon outside her mother’s house on the morning, just a few hours before William went missing.

The complaints against ­Donohoe were investigated ­before William went missing but he was not charged, or put on trial, until 2015.

Donohoe was asked by police when he was arrested: “Do you understand what you are being charged with?”

He replied: “No, not really.”

He was told: “The boys did not give you permission to do sexual acts to them … you are not allowed to take advantage of ­intellectually impaired people and have sex with them.”

He replied: “How was I supposed to know that? I didn’t know there was a law against that.”

The “boys” were all aged over 18, but they were described in court as having the mental functioning of children aged between six and nine.

The inquest is continuing.