In short:
An independent report has criticised the handling of accusations against senior Tasmanian police officer Paul Reynolds, who went on to groom more than 50 boys and young men over three decades.
Reynolds died by suicide in 2018 while he was being investigated for multiple child sexual abuse offences but was given a full police funeral with honour guard in Launceston.
What’s next?
The review made five recommendations, including the establishment of a redress scheme for the victims of Reynolds, which the police commissioner says will be enacted.
A senior Tasmanian police officer was a paedophile who groomed more than 50 boys and young men over three decades before his death by suicide in 2018, an independent report has found.
WARNING: This story contains details of sexual abuse which may cause distress.
A review by former war crimes prosecutor Regina Weiss into Senior Sergeant Paul Reynolds’ conduct found the extent of his grooming and sexual abuse between 1988 and 2018 was “truly shocking and horrific”.
Reynolds took his own life while under investigation over multiple child sexual abuse offences in 2018, but was given a full police funeral with honour guard in Launceston, a decision Police Commissioner Donna Adams has since apologised for.
The review heard from 15 victim-survivors of Reynolds, and identified up to 52 males who were at minimum groomed by him over a 30-year period, with some resulting in sexual abuse.
It found Reynolds was sending explicit messages to “no less than nine teenage boys up to the day of his death”.
Ms Weiss recommended Tasmania Police establish restorative processes and a redress scheme for people who were groomed and sexually abused by Reynolds, plus a similar framework for people groomed or abused by other police officers.
Reynolds promised to make complaint ‘go away’ in exchange for sexual act
The review found Reynolds bragged to people, particularly young men he was grooming, that he had the power to influence the outcome of police prosecutions.
Ms Weiss found no evidence he manipulated investigations or prosecutions, but said it was clear he had used the perception he could alter the outcome of criminal processes as a grooming mechanism.
One person who gave evidence to the review, said Reynolds visited his house with what looked to be a police report or complaint about him some time between 2011 and 2015, and promised to “make it go away” if he performed a sexual act on Reynolds.
The man, who considered Reynolds a friend and mentor at the time, said he was “shocked and scared” by the report.
Ms Weiss said a full search of police records found no record of a police report about the man, and “formed the view that it was likely that the report had been fabricated and presented to the participant in the form of a falsified document by Reynolds”.
“Even if there had been a legitimate police report, and despite this participant being over 18 at the time of the incident, utilising police report as a mechanism to procure sexual favours was a gross abuse of the authority Reynolds held as a police officer and trust the victim-survivor had in him,” she said.
Reynolds used sport ‘as a hunting ground’
Ms Weiss found Reynolds, a former Northern Tasmanian Football Association (NTFA) president, football coach and administrator and basketball umpire “identified and pursued the vast majority of his victims through his affiliation with sport”.
The review found Reynolds was a regular presence in the Deloraine Football Club change rooms, despite not holding a coaching or training role, something Ms Weiss said “should have raised alarm bells”.
Ms Weiss said she was told a report that Reynolds had been witnessed massaging a teenage boy in the Deloraine Football Club was made to the “highest echelons of the NTFA board” in the months before his death.
But there was no record of that allegation ever being on-reported to police or any other agency, Ms Weiss said.
She said it was clear not all members of the board were aware of the allegation, with some only finding out about Reynolds’ sexual abuse after a coronial inquest into his death was handed down in 2023.
A person who spoke to the independent review also alleged the league organised and paid for Reynolds’ wake after his death.
Ms Weiss recommended Tasmania Police take steps to improve trust and relationships with sport and recreation organisations and vulnerable community groups, including a greater police presence at junior sporting competitions, and greater education and training about sexual abuse and grooming for sporting clubs.
The review also recommended Tasmania Police set up a dedicated victim management team that would operate separately of the police’s professional standards command, to support victims of reported sexual offending or misconduct by a current or former police officer.
It also found the legislative investigative powers of Tasmania’s Integrity Commission regarding serious misconduct of police officers “falls short in comparison to other Australian agency jurisdictions and are not fit for purpose”, recommending reform so all allegations of police officers grooming or sexually abusing people can be investigated by the commission.
Seven complaints about current and former police officers have been referred to Tasmania Police.
Two allegations of child sexual abuse by former police officers are still under investigation.
Police investigations criticised
ABC News: Luke Bowden
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Ms Weiss criticised Tasmania Police investigations into allegations against Reynolds in 2008 and one in 2018 that was concluded after his death.
She said the 2008 investigation, triggered after an interstate police officer overheard a conversation at the police academy bar where senior members of Tasmania Police called Reynolds a paedophile, “should have uncovered Reynolds’ conduct towards teenage boys”, but did not.
She found there was no evidence of misconduct by police officers in investigating Reynolds, but said “far too much focus” was placed on the risk of reputational damage to Reynolds, which was “prioritised over risk to the safety of young people”.
Ms Weiss also found the 2018 investigation should have been concluded and addressed publicly by Tasmania Police long before a coronial inquest was handed down in 2023.
‘We failed to protect you,’ Police Commissioner says
Commissioner Adams said she supported all five review recommendations, but two required advice before being presented to the government.
She apologised to victim-survivors of Reynolds, saying she was “deeply sorry for the pain and trauma” they experienced and how it continued to affect them and their families.
“I am deeply sorry we failed to protect you from harm because we didn’t see an abuser among us,” Commissioner Adams said.
“His crimes were an unforgivable breach of your trust. It is my commitment to you that we can and will do better.”
Commissioner Adams said Tasmania Police had already made a suite of changes in the wake of the Commission of Inquiry into Government Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings.
She said those changes included mandatory child and youth safe awareness training for officers, the proactive release of complaints data, dedicated sex crime investigation teams and a requirement for all professional standards complaints to be considered before a police funeral can be granted to a deceased officer.
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