Child sexual abuse commission of inquiry hears of 14-year-old girl living with 60-year-old man

Harrowing tales of a young girl being sexually assaulted after being coerced, a Child Safety Service worker violating boundaries, and a 14-year-old girl living with a 60-year-old man have been revealed in Tasmania’s child sexual abuse commission of inquiry.

A HARROWING story of a young girl being coerced into sex because a boy “wouldn’t play with her anymore” has been told to the child sexual abuse commission of inquiry.

On Wednesday, a former Department of Communities employee said a sexual assault against the girl, Beatrice*, had been deemed “consensual”, and that an injury she suffered could have been self-inflicted.

“The boy had threatened not to play with Beatrice if she didn’t participate in this act, but that wasn’t considered coercive,” the woman – who asked not to be identified – told the inquiry.

She said while Hank* had been assessed after the assault, but deemed to be of low risk because he was a small boy and described as “not particularly bright”.

“The inference was he was not considered capable of carrying out a sexual assault,” the woman said.

“Hank was referred to Family Planning, really for education and developing his skills in saying no to girls when they jump on him.”

The woman said she didn’t want to “blame or sanction” Hank, but he needed intervention to understand his behaviour was wrong, “and to set him on a better pathway for the future”.

“This is one of the most frustrating cases I’ve ever had the experience of in my career because it was so obvious to me there had been a serious assault perpetrated by a young boy.”

Former Department of Communities employee Jack Davenport.

The woman and another former Department of Communities employee, Jack Davenport, also described a Child Safety Service worker, Kirk*, who violated the boundaries of his role – with seemingly no oversight.

The woman said Kirk had given one child a gift and told them to keep it “secret”, had taken children to his own home, and had his children stay at his house overnight.

“(I) was really told, ‘there’s nothing to worry about, that’s just Kirk’;” she said.

“It creates an environment for potential sexual abuse.”

Mr Davenport said he also had “general trepidation” about Kirk’s behaviour, saying he believed staff felt physically threatened by him.

“He’d been doing this for many, many years, and the red flags were just building up,” he said.

“I think that also empowered him to feel like he had carte blanche to do whatever he wanted to do.”

Also on Wednesday, the regional manager of Anglicare – which provides family, children and youth services – gave evidence about the agency’s lack of power to step in, in certain cases.

“We’ve had a situation where a 14-year-old girl had chosen to live with a 60-year-old man who had exploited her, but her reasoning is, she was a lot safer than in her home with her parents,” Jodie Stokes told the inquiry.

Ms Stokes said in instances like that, Anglicare could make a referral to Child Safety Services – but it could be “quite frustrating” to get a satisfying outcome.

“When we’re told that they’re self-selecting … that means the option of residential care or foster care for that young person is not an option,” she said.

“We have to look at other options: maybe a shelter, that’s usually only six to eight weeks. There really aren’t a lot of options in Tasmania for under-16 young people that are homeless.”

* Names change to protect identities.

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Originally published as Child sexual abuse commission of inquiry hears of 14-year-old girl living with 60-year-old man