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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

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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.

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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)

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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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.

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