issues paper 11 - royal commission into institutional ... · abuse to my parish priest, father...
TRANSCRIPT
SUBM.2392.001.0001_E_R
SUBMLSSION TO THE ROYALCOMMlSSION INTO INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSES TO CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
Issues Paper 11 Re: Actions taken by the Catholic
Archdiocese of Brisbane in Relation to Findings in Case Study 4 (Joan Isaacs)
REDACTED
Joan Katherine Isaacs
151h June 2016
SUBM ISSION TO THE ROYAL COMM ISSION INTO INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSES TO CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
Issues Paper 11
SUBM.2392.001.0074_E_R
To what extent did the I use of secrecy, including the practice of mental reservation' contribute to the occurrence of child sexual abuse or affect the institutional response to
the abuse?
REDACTED
Joan Katherine Isaacs
1S1h June 2016
1.
SUBM.2392.001.0075_E_R
BACKGROUND:
In December 2013, I was a witness in Case Study 4. I was abused by
Father Francis Edward Derriman in 1967 and 1968. In 1968 I reported my
abuse to my parish priest, Father Martin Doyle.1 My friend, and now
husband, lan Isaacs, also reported my abuse by Derriman to the Church
at the time. 2 REDACTED
REDACTED Father Doyle, parish
priest of St. Ftannan's, Zillmere in his police statement stated,
'I passed the information I had about Father Derriman and his behaviour onto my superiors. I believe I would have informed Archbishop O'Donnell...and Bishop Harry Kennedy. From this, I believe that Frank Derriman was called in to see the Archbishop to be spoken to over the alleged incidents.' 4
Further, according to police documents a parent of another girl went to
see Archbishop O'Donnell about Derriman.5
In 1996 t took my matter to the Queensland Police. I found out around
that time that the sister of
Queensland Police.
Detective Senior Constable Derek Kordick was appointed to head the
investigation into these cases. In 1997 Derek Kordick made the trip to
Ballarat to arrest Derriman on charges for matters relating to me and
- The matters were then handed over to the Department of Public
Prosecutions. The outcome of the committal hearings was that
Derriman was committed to stand trial for all three counts for the
charges related to me but the charges against Derriman on -
- matters did not proceed to trial.
During the police investigation Derek Kordick told me that when he
enquired of the Church, seeking the Derriman file, they (the Church) said
1 Royal Commission into the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Case Study 4, Police statement of Joan Katherine Isaacs, CT JH.1 00.01250.0171_R p.l0,cl.45, 17/10/1996 ~ Police statement of lan Joseph Isaacs, p.3, d .16, 20/07/97 (Appendix 1) 3 Police statement of p.4,cl.14,23/09/1997 (Appendix 2) 4 Police statement of Father Martin Doyle, p. l ,cl. 6, 07/02/1998 (Appendix 3) 5 Police statement otl@•t-!115•1 p. 4,cl.18,19/07/97 (Appendix 4)
2
SUBM.2392.001.0076_E_R
there was no file related to the matters that he was investigating. I had
no evidence to dispute the claim but was very surprised that there was
no file, given all the reports taken to the Church around the time of the
abuse, prior to Derriman's transfer to the Enoggera Parish.
CASE STUDY 4: DISCLOSURES
1. When Archbishop Coleridge gave his evidence to the Royal
Commission he said,
'I have first of all looked at his (Derriman's) fi le in some detail.'6
I was stunned to hear this, given the Church response at the time of the
Derriman trial.
2. After the Case Study 4 hearing, in a tender bundle of Royal
Commission documents, I located a Catholic Church Insurance
Limited Special Incident Report relating to Derriman.7
A woman referred to as DE, claimed to have been abused by
Derriman between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years. The
Special Incident Report stated that Archbishop Bathersby was
made aware of the claim on the 6th April1994. This was more than
two years before the police investigation into my abuse and
therefore well before Detective Kordick asked the Church for
anything on Derriman's file which was related to the investigation
he was undertaking.
6 Royal Commission into the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Case Study 4, Transcript
Day (026), Archbishop Mark Coleridge, p. 2754, cl. 46-47, 11/12/2013 7
Royal Commission int-o the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Case Study 4, Document ID
CCI .0039.00006.0237 _R: Catholic Church Insurances Limited Special Issues Incident Report, 06/05/1994
3
SUBM.2392.001.0077 E R
3. After the Case Study 4 hearing, I also located another document in
the tender bundle. In a fax from Laurie Rolls, from Catholic
Church Insurance, on the 261h April 2000, he makes reference to
that fact that my husband Jan and another person,
' .. . spoke of their concerns to Archbishop O'Donnell...' ... The Archdiocese became aware of the seriousness of the man's behaviour on the 6th April 1994 and reported the matter under the "Special Issues" Cover in May that year.'8
4. After the Case Study 4 hearing concluded, I subsequently
made an application to the Office of the Director of Public
Prosecutions for the transcript of the committal proceedings
in the matter of Francis Derriman. I received these
documents in November 2014. In sworn evidence, Detective
Senior Constable Derek Kordick confirmed to the Magistrate
that he sought Church files in relation to Derriman. He was
told by Father Spence that there were no files.
The following extract is from the available court documents.
When the Magistrate, Gribbin SM, questioned Detective
Senior Constable Derek Kordick he asked,
-Father james Spence, now there's no statement from him? -No -Does he fall into the category of can't assist? -No, he- the only reason I contacted him was to see if there was any file from the church in relation to this, which he had a look and there was not -Right was he at the Bishop's or was he at the Bishop's headquarters? -He works for the Bishop. I believe he works out of a parish at Nundah -sorry, Nundah/ Hamilton parish. That's where he seems to be stationed however when I made inquiries with the Bishop's Office, they put me on to him.9
8 Royal Commission into the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Case Study 4, Document ID CCI.0039.00006.0379_R: Facsimile from Laurie Rolls to Usa Clarke, subject Archdiocese of Brisbane
Derriman atsJoan Isaacs, 26/04/2000 9 Transcript of Proceedings (Committal Hearing) No. PA33970-7 of 1997,01/04/98, Derek John Kordick
and Francis Edward Derriman, Brisbane, Wit: Kordick, OJ, p.S, cl .43-54. (Appendix 5)
4
My Submission to the Royal Commission
1. It is available to the Royal Commission to call for and
examine the Derriman file referred to by Archbishop
Coleridge as the one he 'looked at in some detail'.
2. It is available to the Royal Commission to gain evidence
from Mr Derek Kordick who is now a practising barrister in
North Queensland. Mr. Kordick may well have recall of the
events which gave rise to his evidence in the Magistrate' s
Court at the Derriman committal hearing.
3. It is available to the Royal Commission to question Dr
James Spence regarding the Archdiocese's use of secrecy
and/or mental reservation regarding these files . Dr Spence
was Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, was a
qualified lawyer and held a Doctorate in Canon law, at the
time of the police investigation.10
SUBM.2392.001.0078_E_R
10 Royal Commission Into the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Case Study 4, Statement
of Rev. J. R. Spence, CTJH. SOO.OlOOl.OOOl_E_ R_ M. p.l,cl .6 & p.2,cl.l4
5
Effects of Institutional Response
I believe that by denying the existence of the 'Derriman file', the
Church was complicit in the defence of Derriman in his criminal
trial. Having access to the Derriman file would certainly have
assisted the prosecution in their case against him and could have
resulted in more charges being laid.
The Church's actions in denying the existence of a file could have
prevented a more just outcome for me in the trial. I also believe the
Church's actions contributed to the failure of the legal process for REDACTED
. Ms ied without ever achieving the
justice she deserved as a victim of Father Derriman.
6
SUBM.2392.001.0079 E R