Sgt Paul Reynolds: Widow Sharon tells inquest she knew nothing

The wife of a Tasmania Police sergeant said she knew nothing of his preying on young boys online, nor the taking of hundreds of thousands from his infirm mum’s account.

Senior Sergeant Paul Reynolds at the 2006 Beaconsfield Mine disaster, when he was ranked inspector. Picture: File

The widow of a former Tasmania Police inspector who suicided the day after he had his devices seized over allegations, subsequently substantiated, he was preying on teenage boys online has told an inquest she knew nothing of his perversions.

Prospect woman Sharon Reynolds, the wife of Senior Sergeant Paul Reynolds, spoke on Wednesday at the coronial inquest into the suicides of her husband, Const Paul Hunt, Const Simon Darke and Sgt Robert Cooke between 2016–20.

Counsel assisting the coroner Cameron Lee previously told the inquest Reynolds, a former president of the Northern Tasmanian Football Association and heavily involved in junior coaching, had sent and received “dick pics” from at least three teenage boys.

Prospect widow Sharon Reynolds. Picture: LinkedIn

Mr Lee said Reynolds told one of them that the boy possessed an “anaconda penis” and he sent all three multiple pictures of himself sitting on the toilet.

There was also evidence Reynolds had embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from his infirm mother’s accounts while her power of attorney, spending it on helicopter flights over the 12 Apostles, Tiffany & Co jewellery, and nights at the Country Club Casino.

Mrs Reynolds told the inquest that despite the fact she and her husband were the elderly woman’s powers of attorney jointly and severally, she never saw Reynolds draining the account of $179,000 from the sale of his mother’s house.

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Other expenses billed to the account highlighted by Mr Lee included nearly $300 at clothing retailer General Pants Co and $370 for a ritzy dinner.

Mr Lee asked whether the Reynolds’ mum typically wore duds from General Pants or enjoyed taking helicopter flights on the mainland. Mrs Reynolds responded she didn’t believe so.

Mrs Reynolds said it was only after her husband’s death she discovered the account had $31.68 left

Regarding her husband’s nefarious sexual activities, she said she never saw any evidence, nor even had a inkling, he was wired that way. The pair were married 31 years.

They were living in a police house at Westbury when Professional Standards Command executed a search warrant on the evening of September 12, 2018.

All devices in the home were seized bar Mrs Reynolds mobile, which she took to work the following morning, the day of her husband’s death.

She said she would have contacted him throughout the day to check on his welfare, but she had no means of contacting him. The pair did not have a landline.

The inquest continues in Hobart on Thursday.

Originally published as Sgt Paul Reynolds: Widow Sharon tells inquest she knew nothing