Officials blamed at WA sex abuse inquiry

ADVERSE findings have been recommended against three senior state school and hostel officials over a suspected child sex abuse cover-up in Western Australia.

ADVERSE findings have been recommended against three senior state school and hostel officials over a suspected child sex abuse cover-up in Western Australia.

The findings follow a special inquiry into sex abuse at state-run hostels which has been running for the past four months, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Peter Blaxell.

On Friday, counsel assisting the inquiry, Philip Urquhart, recommended that Mr Blaxell make adverse findings against former St Andrews hostel board chairmen Keith Stephens and Alan Parks, and Katanning Senior High School principal Ian Murray.

Mr Urquhart said the men had failed their responsibilities to protect children in their care.

Four adverse findings were recommended against Mr Murray, who publicly supported one of Australia's worst serial pedophiles, Dennis McKenna, 67, who was a warden at the St Andrews Hostel in the Great Southern town of Katanning from 1975-90.

McKenna was first charged with child sex abuse in 1991.

One adverse finding was recommended against Mr Parks for failing to act after repeated warnings of sexual abuse at St Andrews.

Three adverse findings were recommended against Mr Stephens after he caught his 16-year-old son in bed with Dennis McKenna but did nothing.

Mr Stephens told the inquiry McKenna had threatened to "smash" his family and marriage and "destroy" the former hostel board chairman if he uttered a word of the incident.

Mr Urquhart said about 40 witnesses had been advised in writing whether adverse findings would be recommended against them.

The inquiry was prompted by a 15-year reign of terror by McKenna, who is serving six years in jail for abusing six boys in his care, then aged 13 to 15.

He faces 66 new charges relating to 16 new alleged victims and is scheduled to reappear in court on July 16.

McKenna's younger brother, Neil, 53, is a convicted child rapist who is serving more than six years jail for abusing a girl in his care while he was a senior supervisor and acting warden at the same hostel from 1986-91.

At one stage, five members of the McKenna family were working as wardens or senior supervisors at St Andrews in the 1980s.

The terms of the Blaxell inquiry have since been expanded to include other WA country hostels, finding evidence of systemic abuse at a number of state-run institutions from the 1960s to early 1990s.

The inquiry is to continue next week.