A priest’s dark secret and a detective’s quest for justice | Forensic Files

[Music] just the warning today's episode deals with child sex abuse it will not be
suitable for all business father John Day was a Catholic priest who graduated from Corpus Christi
College in Melbourne 1927 Corpus Christi is one of Australia's leading priesthood
training colleges day was given his first parish in 1936 at Kolak about 150 kilometers southwest of Melbourne he
spent three years there before being transferred north to Ararat which is a two-hour drive away he spent nine years
there before being transferred to Horsham a further ella north after two years at Horsham they found himself
heading back south to beech forest where he spent two years from there he went to
a Palo Bay a coastal town in southern Victoria it was during his two years of apollo bay that dave first met police
officer Dennis Rowan Dennis Ryan joined the Victorian police force in 1952 he had a strong Catholic faith and was a
regular churchgoer with his family out of the Academy he was sent to Russell Street Police Headquarters where he did
various duties and learnt the ropes of policing all new recruits were sent to Russell Street at that time after
finishing up at Russell Street Dennis cut his teeth working on patrolling st. kilda only eight
kilometers outside of Melbourne central business district it was 1956 Dennis had
been a police officer for four years father John day had been a Catholic priest for twenty 90s day was in charge
of the Apollo Bay parish but had found his way into st. kilda for the night about a two hour and 40 minute drive
away from home [Music] in 1956 st. kilda was known as the red-light district around Melbourne all
sorts of colorful characters could be found wandering the streets especially late at night it was just after 1:00
a.m. and Dennis Ryan was working a patrol car he was with two more experienced officers at the time one of
those senior officers was Tom Jenkins a war veteran and foreign police officer who Dennis had a deep respect for they
noticed the new expensive looking car driving down the streets of st. kilda but something didn't fit they recognized
the driver she was a well-known sex worker in the area and they knew she didn't own a car so what was she doing
driving this expensive new car at one o'clock in the morning they pulled her over and as they approached the vehicle
they saw she wasn't alone another well-known female sex worker was in the car with her as they got closer still
they realized the two girls weren't alone the car had a bench seat and lying with his head in one girl's lap and his
feet across the other girls lap was a man his pants and underwear were down around his ankles he was blind drunk
with an empty bottle of booze in his hand and he could barely string two words together generally this wouldn't
have been an unusual sight in the streets of st. kilda at the time certainly nothing the police hadn't seen
before at least it wouldn't have been unusual if the man wasn't wearing the black shirt and white clerical collar of
a priest Denis asked the girls what was going on they replied he's a regular he lets us
drive his car around the two girls were told to take off one of the officers dragged the priests vehicle back to the
station while the others followed behind in a police car the priest was father John day at the time working at the
Apollo Bay parish 200 kilometres away they helped father day inside the station and called st. Patrick's
Cathedral in East Melbourne the officers explained the situation at the time this
was a criminal offence Denis was shocked at what he was seeing as a devout Catholic he was appalled at
the behavior of day to young uncomfortable-looking priests from st. Patrick's Cathedral arrived at the
station 20 minutes later the senior officers gave day a stern warning that if he was caught in a situation like
that again he would be arrested and charged but for now he was free to go Denis Ryan openly questioned why day had
been led off so easily one of the senior officers told him I've been around this
force long enough to know that we don't charge priests short of a murder blue Denis was told he would be best to
forget what he had seen just let it go even if they had charged the priest it would have never made it to court
they say dawei a dentist for weeks he was very uncomfortable with what had happened just because days a priest why
should he get a free pass he should be held to a higher moral standard Denis couldn't shake it and decided to have
another chat to Tom Jenkins the senior officer he was working with on the night Denis asked Tom tell me what's the drill
when we lock up priests Tom required somewhat chillingly quote we don't lock them up we let them go
once you've been around for a while you'll start to learn the Catholic Church carries a good deal more clout
than a local church on the corner it's a political organization it has wrapped itself around every layer of government
this happens everywhere all across Australia and probably all over the world but nowhere does the Catholic
Church have more power than it does the Victorian police force short of a murder
Blue Hill walk every time nothing would happen today this goes all the way to the top it's not just the police it's
the judges lawyers the politicians I don't agree with it but there are forces at work here that are stronger than you
and me I learned early on in the job don't pick fights you can't win keep in mind this is the 1950s religion had a
far greater influence on society than it does today the police force was no different the Victorian police force
even had unofficial divisions based on your faith there were strong Catholic sections of the force but also
Protestants and Freemasons had a strong representation at the time as well your religion or beliefs or membership
of certain groups could dictate what sections you could work in there were some squads that were Catholic only some
squads were for Freemasons only and so on you would naturally gravitate towards those sections and officers who shared
your beliefs of course this was an exclusive to the Victorian police force this was just society at the time it was
happening everywhere all across the country not everybody was religious or a freemason there was still a healthy
percentage of atheists and people who held other beliefs outside of mainstream religions but those mainstream religions
had a far stronger hold on people at the time after his encounter with father day
on the streets of st. kilda Denis Ryan passed the detective exam Denis worked in the detectives office in the Russell
Street headquarters and it Franck's them before transferring to Morlock in 1958 about a 45-minute drive
from melbourne dennis was a hard worker and a good detective that was well known
he was a devout Catholic and it was because of his strong Catholic beliefs he was made the following offer dennis
was out enjoying beers with his fellow detectives one afternoon when Detective Sergeant Fred Russell pulled him aside
Fred said to Dennis quote what I'm about to tell you is in the strictest confidence I don't know if you know this
but there is a group of us who at the request of the Cathedral look into instances where priests have been
charged with offences to see we can have these matters dropped or dismissed so the church is good name will not be born
into disrepute we know your strong belief we'd like to invite you to join us a group of police keeping a lookout
for and protecting priests the Catholic mafia Dennis immediately thought back to
the incident with father day and assumed those were the sorts of things fred was
talking about minor matters drink-driving and other traffic related stuff being caught with sex workers that
sort of thing nothing major but still the sort of behavior that could bring embarrassment to the church
Dennis was never comfortable with letting day off so easily and he wasn't about to join a group that looked out
for other priests who found themselves in trouble Dennis said no he wasn't interested in joining the Catholic mafia
Russell never mentioned the names of anyone else involved and Dennis didn't think too much more of it in 1962
Dennis's son Michael had a severe asthma attack causing him to stop breathing indigo blue in the face a doctor was
called who had to give Michael a shot of adrenaline to bring him back not a lot was known about asthma at the time and
the doctor said the main thing he could recommend would be to move Michael into a drier warmer climate
Denis initially considered moving to Queensland however when he superiors loaned what was going on they told him
not to go they wanted him to remain with the Victorian police he was offered a Detective position at Mildura Mildura
was right on the border of New South Wales in Northwest Victoria it was about as far as it could go without leading
mistake 540 kilometers or 335 miles away from Melbourne and it would provide the
dry warm climate that Michael required for his asthma there was a country posting a regional city with a
population of about 27,000 people at the time Denis accepted the position and moved his family to Northwest the
country Victoria on his first day at Mildura Denis met with the officer in charge of the detectives office
Detective Sergeant Jim Barrett Jim was eager to give Denis the guided tour of the town their first stop a meet and
greet with a local parish priest Denis thought this was a bit unusual for a police to her at the town but being a
devout Catholic he wanted to check out the church and make the priest anyway imagine he surprised when he was
introduced to father John de Denis recognized him instantly from the st. Kilda incident six years earlier they
had been transferred from the Apollo Bay parish to the Mildura parish the year after that incident in 1957 the meeting
was friendly enough and Dennis didn't mention anything today they didn't seem to recognize denisita which was no
surprise given how drunk he was when they met previously as they were driving away from the meeting Dennis said the
gym that day had some unusual habits for a priest he then filled him in about the
incident from 6 years old Jim Barrett didn't have the reaction Dennis was expecting he snapped yelling you don't
know what you're talking about get your facts right before you open your gob Dennis didn't back dinner he had his
facts right he had seen it with his own eyes after a bit of back and forth the guided tour came to an early end Jim
drove Dennis back to the station in silence there was a bit more back and forth between them in the office for the
rest of the day clearly Detective Sergeant Jim Barrett was a staunch defender of the local
priest the next day Denis received a phone call from father day who requested that he pay him a visit
Denis agreed and drove over to meet with him dave was angry he yelled you need to get
your facts straight you don't know what you're talking about that wasn't me there was another priest
named John day he was also in Apollo Bay I've never been to the place after a bit
of back and forth between them they said get out of my sight don't you spread malicious rumors about me
get out Dennis returned to the station and was met by another barrage of abuse from Jim Barrett it was an interesting
start to his time at Mildura Dennis learnt very early that Barrett and day were more than just friends the way Jim
had reacted and immediately jumped to the defense of day there seemed to be something else going on but he wasn't
quite sure what Denis Rowland kept up his regular visits to the church with his family he sat
back almost in amusement as he listened to father day talk about the church's strong position on virginity celibacy
and morality he would drone on about the degrading and unchristian practice of girls wearing bikinis and the declining
moral standards of society with girls getting around in miniskirts all Denis could see was a two-faced hypocrite if
only his fellow churchgoers knew about that incident in st. kilda the deep bond shared by father day in Detective
Sergeant Jim Barrett only became clearer to Denis as the years went on Denis formed the view that Barrett was a
right-hand man today the two of them also shared a close relationship with another man
Joe Cooney Kearney was the clerk of a local court in Mildura no big deal in a major city like Melbourne but in a small
country town like Mildura he had much more authority there was no permanent judge in town the judge worked a large
district what was called a circuit which covered a large area and a lot of different towns the judge would travel
around and sit at the different courts as he was required when there was no judge in town which was most of the time
Joe Kearney was the most senior official of the court they Barrett and Kearney were extremely close regularly meeting
up to have dinner always having meetings together as well as his role of clerk at
the court Kearney was also treasurer of the Mildura Catholic parish funds meaning he was in charge of funds paid
by the government for the admin and maintenance of Catholic schools in the parish in Mildura the Catholic schools
were Sacred Heart primary and Sen Joseph high so Kearney was in charge of a lot of money that had to cover teachers
salaries building maintenance curriculum expenses and everything else required to
run a school Barrett was in charge of the collection plate from behalf of father day he used to like standing over
the parishioners demanding more money they needed it the church needed give more Denis
couldn't work out what day was constantly crying poor and demanding more money from these people he always
drove a new expensive looking car he had a taste for foreign ones and flush votes
the church was always immaculately decorated he didn't seem to be doing too badly it was all very suspicious to
Denis but he just stayed out of it he didn't want anything to do with day Barret or Kearney he wasn't going to let
em affect his faith Denis never rated Barret as a detective all he liked to do was pick on kids and arrest drunks
serious crime was out of his depth Denis was especially disgusted when he learned
that father day would let Barret know about the secret shared him in the confessional box school kids would come
in and confess to mischief they got up to maybe stealing a candy bar from the local store or breaking into the canteen
and stealing soft drinks next thing the kids knew Jim Barrett was knocking on their door and dragging them into the
police station for an interview day completely breached the kids trust a disgusted Dennis and he hated Baron
hated his aggressive controlling behavior and his deep connection today he sensed something wasn't right and he
decided to start digging Barrett was very secretive of the contents of his drawer he had his own
office which he would often keep locked but if his office was unlocked then one thing was for sure the top drawer of his
desk would be Barrett kept the key like his life depended on it Dennis and another detective often wondered what
Barrett was keeping in there one day they found out they were able to break into the drawer by getting a second key
cut using a unique code found on the lock as they opened it they were met by some insignificant paperwork but it was
underneath that where they found five black-and-white photographs the photos were of girls aged about eight to ten
years old all standing naked with glum expressions on their faces Dennis initially thought that these
might be evidence from a case but the more he thought about it the more that didn't make sense if the photos were
evidence they would have been entered into the evidence book and stored in a property room they quickly put the
photos back and lock the drawer Dennis knew Jim Barrett was odd and was very close to father day but what was he
doing with these photos he kept the information close he couldn't do anything about it for now
he had illegally broken into Barrett's drawer not only that Barrett could easily make up some [ __ ] about them
being linked to a case even if they weren't Barrett could have back dated an entry in the evidence book and say they
weren't stored in the property room dude at their sensitive nature all that would
achieve would be to get Dennis into some serious trouble Dennis decided to wait and dig a little
further he knew something else about Barrett he always took courage of sex offense cases involving young girls all
the uniformed officers and fellow detectives knew that any case such as that went straight to Barrett he always
interviewed the girls alone with his office door locked still it wasn't enough to prove anything
Dennis may have had a clearer picture if he had been made aware of the complaint
made to sergeant Michael O'Donnell O'Donnell was a patrol officer who had transferred to Mildura not long after
Dennis O'Donnell received a complaint from a parent one afternoon a young boy still at Sacred Heart primary school had
come home and told his dad that father day had pinned him down and fondled his penis
O'Donnell took the complaint straight to the detectives Dennis wasn't in his office so he didn't hear about it
another detective told O'Donnell that this wasn't the first complaint that had been made about de but they couldn't do
anything with it all complaints involving day had to go to Detective Sergeant Jim Barrett no exceptions
they Donnell didn't see a problem with that and made sense Barrett was the head detective and this was a serious
complaint O'Donnell forwarded the information on to Barrett for follow-up a week or so later
O'Donnell hadn't heard anything from Barrett about what was happening and Barrett wasn't the most friendly or
approachable person so a Donnell decided to pay the boy and his dad a visit to see what was happening
O'Donnell was told by the boy's dad that there was nothing happening Jim Barrett
had paid them a visit and talked them into withdrawing the complaint Barrett described the scandal and shame that
would come to their family if they went ahead with it the boy had made a serious allegation
against a good man and a fine priest and to the Catholic Church would not take such a complaint and lying down the dad
explained to our Donnell that he felt he had no choice but to withdraw as Barrett
didn't believe this wasn't the first visit Jim Barrett had made to a parent of a child who had made a complaint
about father day and the result of these visits always went the same way complained withdrawn
Denis Ryan wasn't made aware of this particular incident until many many years later Denis was able to connect a
little more information when the circuit judge in the area paid him a visit one day the judge was Joe Hayes Denis had
gotten to know him well over the years from different cases he had taken to Mildura
Court Denis Aziz picked up when Judge Hayes came to his house for dinner one night and said this quote I'm rather
concerned about Jim and the way he takes statements from young girls on carnal knowledge and other sex offenses the
statements are unnecessarily explicit Dennis told judge Hayes about Barrett's instructions that he be given all cases
of that nature he also told him about the photos he had found in his drawer judge Hayes wasn't surprised
and he told Denis to keep a close eye when his superior meanwhile Jim Barrett continued harassing drunks and kids he
even arrested the president of the organizing committee for the local kindergarten for holding a fundraising
raffle without a license Denis could only shake his head it was common knowledge around Mildura that
father day often took children away on weekend trips he liked driving kids down to Melbourne on what was a long road
trip it would take kids to see musicals or the cricket or Rosie rules football matches the community was full of praise
for the priest what a man to devote so much time to the children father day also taught at the Sacred Heart primary
school he was in charge of physical education dave also was the one who chose the Alpha boys for the church he
would pick 8 to 10 boys a year the altar boys would lay out prayer books light candles and generally helped prepare for
mass and Holy Communion they also put them to work doing other jobs around the church grounds and his residence like
washing his car the altar boys would be alone at the church under days care for hours and
hours at a time he was a pillar of the community with a great reputation no one was trusted and respected more
than father day on a Wednesday morning in 1971 dennis received a phone call from John Hayden the head teacher at San
Joseph's high school John was a well-respected teacher with an excellent reputation john requested
dennis go unseen at school there was an important matter that he wanted to discuss with him before hanging up john
was very clear with Dennis do not let Jim Barrett know he had called when Dennis arrived at the school
John came straight out with it the mother of one of our students has made a complaint that father day has indecently
assaulted her daughter on a number of occasions he went on to say that he feared if Jim Barrett became aware of
the complaint then it would go nowhere due to his close association with day Dennis immediately arranged to meet with
the girl and her mother and take statements the girl was only 12 years old and had been assaulted on five
separate occasions by father day after he had finished taking a statement the girl provided Dennis with the name of
another girl who she knew day had forced himself upon Dennis visited with this girl as well she also agreed to provide
a statement her assault happened in the car in the presence of two nuns and three other students they was taking
them away on a trip to Melbourne to see a musical he made the girl sit next to him in the car and placed her head in
his lap both girls were students of Sacred Heart primary school these statements were start but they wouldn't
be enough Dennis needed more evidence against day so he started digging and it didn't take much digging to uncover the
names of more victims then it's met with a man named Kim who is now in his 20s married with kids of
his own Kim's name had been provided to Dennis discreetly by a friend when the friend learned that Dennis was looking
in today Kim gave a statement to Dennis about his time at Sacred Heart primary school he had been an altar boy for
day-day had only just arrived at the parish Kim was 11 years old when he was attacked the first attack also occurred
in a car dey was driving with his penis exposed and he made Kim touch it later that night
Dame Kim stayed in the same bed Kim was woken up in the middle of the night by day trying to have sex with him Kim was
being cared for by two auntie's at the time both were fanatical churchgoers and worship today after the first attack Kim
said he wasn't going away with day anymore but his auntie's were having none of it
they gave they permission to take him away a total of five times numerous sexual and indecent assaults were
committed on Kim during those trips he gave Dennis a signed statement Dennis expressed the Kim that this had
to be kept very quiet if Detective Sergeant Jim Barrett found out about this investigation Dennis
would be shut down that wasn't all the information Kim had he had the name of another rumored victim of days and
that's essentially how the investigation continued a secret investigation that had to be hidden from Barrett and hidden
from other police in case they go Barrett their tip off Dennis would speak to a victim they would give him a
statement and then they were given the name of another victim and on it went then I struggled to comprehend the
enormity of it at the time of the attacks the youngest victim was 8 the oldest was 15 all had been students at
Sacred Heart primary school and Saint Joseph's high school the attacks occurred between 1957 the Year Day
arrived at Mildura and the 1970 Dennis never liked today but getting drunk and blazing with
consenting sex workers while preaching about chastity and morality was one thing but this this was something else
it made Dennis sick to the core he felt like violently attacking day but knew that would achieve nothing he had to
play this smart Dennis then started to wonder how much did he supervised a detective Jim Barrett know about all of
this how much did the clerk of the court Joe Kearney know the three had an incredibly tight bond to dis explain the
pictures Dennis had found in Barrett straw Denis had been looking in today for a
month or when he decided it was time to approach the most senior officer in the district superintendent Jack McPartland
McPartlin was another devout Catholic but he wasn't stationed at Mildura he was at Swan Hill over 200 kilometers or
124 miles away he was in charge of the entire district that a lot of different police stations fell under covering a
wide area Dennis felt confident the superintendent was far enough away that it wouldn't be
influenced by day or Baron Dennis rung McPartlin and laid out the investigation he had five victim statements detailing
sexual and indecent assaults committed by father day covering a 13 year period he was surprised when superintendent
McPartlin told him to hand over all the statements he had taken to inspector Irwin immediately he also ordered Dennis
to cease his investigation inspector Irwin was the officer in charge of Mildura police station at the time also
a devout Catholic and a very place friend of Detective Sergeant Barrett so Barrett was in charge of the detectives
office but Alan was the boss of the station and to the one Barrett had to answer to Dennis wasn't happy with that
he told McPartlin quote what you're asking me to do will effectively destroy this investigation McPartlin required
I'm going to tell you something now detective Ryan and you're not going to like it I'm
superintendent and you're a nobody do as you're [ __ ] told McPartland slam the phone down Dennis's
mine drifted back to the night he was pulled aside by sergeant Fred Russell and asked if he wanted to join an
exclusive group of Catholic police officers who looked out for the church the Catholic mafia at the time
Dennis thought it was minor offenses they could make go away drink-driving liaising with sex workers surely they
weren't involved in covering up crimes against children or were they did the Catholic mafias reach extend all the way
up to Mildura were they protecting a pedophile priest Dennis did as he was told he handed the five statements to
inspector Irwin Irwin didn't say a word to Dennis he took the statements and then went straight back to his paperwork
it was pretty obvious to Dennis those statements were headed straight for the bin Dennis and followed orders the stay
out of trouble but he wasn't going to drop it that easily if he had to keep looking into father day he kept poking
around and asking questions trying to find more victims in November 1971 inspector Owen told Dennis some good
news Irwin was actually going to act on a statements Dennis had taken he was going to interview fathered a great
thought Dennis Owen hadn't just thrown the statements in the bin maybe they could get somewhere with this
investigation after all but then Bowen said he was taking Detective Sergeant Jim Barrett along
with him for the interview Denis exploded he must be [ __ ] joking they are best friends
he can't take him in on the interview it is a clear conflict of interest and will
compromise the investigation Dennis's protests fell on deaf ears he was thought to shut up and stay out of
it Denis suspects Barrett supplied day a copy of all the questions that were going to be asked of him to give him
time to prepare during the interview day came up with all the right answers he denied the allegations and that was that
it was going nowhere Denis though continued his investigation he wasn't going to sit back and let a
pedophile get away that easily he found another two victims both were young boys
at st. Joseph's high school when de indecently assaulted them they both provided statements after de had been
interviewed when Denis handed the two new statements that Owen he just grunted and snatched them out of his hand being
a small country town it didn't take long for people to start talking the news spread like wildfire in December 1971 a
few weeks after they had been interviewed by Erwin and Barrett Denis was approached by one of the days fellow
priests outside of the police station the priest had this to say drop the inquiry in today or you'll be
out of a job Denis couldn't believe it threatened by a priest he told him to get [ __ ] what
would make a priest think that the Catholic Church had any say over the hiring and firing of the Victorian
police wondered Denis the town became divided half of them supported Denis and wanted to see the investigation
conducted properly the other half would have been happy to burn Denis alive for casting suspicion on their beloved
priest Denis couldn't walk down the street without somebody saying something either abuse and threats or support and
sympathy depending on who he came across after days interview inspector Owen compiled a report to Superintendent
Department recommending no further police action be taken in the investigation McPartlin added his own
comments to the report for greeing with Erwin effectively the comments said that
the statements were made years after the attacks and that there was no corroborating evidence the report would
then be forwarded on to the police commissioner and to the crown prosecutors for final determination
Denis though continued to take statements from the victims of date he took another one from a young boy
outlining indecent and sexual assault that now made a total of eight victims who had provided statements to Denis
three of those eight victims were still current students as and joseph's high school and three of those statements had
been made after days police interview so that was new evidence that had to be considered Denis Ryan paid another visit
to John Hayden head teacher at Sand josephs he told him about the other victims of day he'd found but that had
been ordered off the case by Erwin and Barrett effectively ending the investigation they decided to try
something different and take the information they had today Superior bishop mock turns mob Kearns was in
charge of the Ballarat district made up of about 50 parishes they assumed he would treat these allegations in the
right way they drafted a detailed letter to him outlining all of the information
they had they requested he take action and removed a immediately I didn't quite get the response they were looking for
Bishop Malkin's defended day saying that inspector Owen and Detective Sergeant Barrett had already cleared him of these
allegations the Bishop conveniently ignored the three further allegations that came out after the day's interview
he said it was time for Dennis to change his ways and demonstrate loyalty today they had been subjected to a great deal
of embarrassment that he didn't deserve it was tarnishing his excellent reputation
the bishop obviously wasn't interested in the abuse of children committed by one of his priests so Denis continued
taking statements before Christmas in 1971 he had taken a further three signed statements from victims a day at the
time of the attacks there were students at Sacred Heart primary school aged between 11 and 13 that brought the total
number of victims who had provided statements 211 after a few years of living in Mildura Denis had moved his
family outside of the town onto a property that meant he no longer went to church at Mildura as Red Cliffs was
closer to him that suited him just fine as in the six years he had been attending church at Red Cliffs he hadn't
seen father day there once but after Dennis started his investigation they did turn up to the church there one day
Dennis's son was actually an altar boy at the time he was shocked when the priest and the altar boy started their
procession into the church and he saw that it was day standing behind his son Dennis stood up and told his son to get
changed out of his older boy uniform because they were leaving he then stared at day and yelled he dirty bastard you
think I'm going to let you anywhere near my children they didn't say anything and
carried on trying to ignore him but he looked rattled the other attendees at the church was shocked at what they had
just witnessed despite Dennis taking a further six statements after day's interview the
investigation was going nowhere it was being stalled by Erwin and Barrett with the help of Superintendent McPartland
Dennis had nowhere to turn he decided to try his luck by ringing one of his old friends from his days working in
Melbourne Frank Holland who is now a superintendent himself Dennis told him about the investigation he was
conducting in today and how it had been stalled Holland told him he already knew
all about it and not to worry because help was on the way Dennis couldn't believe it maybe now he
could get somewhere with DES this is just what they needed a senior officer from me outside the region to come in
and take charge the men that was sent was Superintendent John O'Connor chief investigator for the Commissioner you
couldn't get much higher but when Dennis feared it was O'Connor who was coming up
he was alarmed O'Connor was a devout Catholic O'Connor arrived on the 15th of January 1972 Dennis already had a bad
feeling and he didn't feel any better when I Connor said this to him quote what I intend to do is have Barrett
moved on and he will be made Detective Sergeant here Dennis knew he didn't have the experience to step straight into a
Detective Sergeant role he also knew that he would first have to go back to Melbourne and spend time as a sergeant
in uniform but O'Connor told him not to worry he could make it happen where there's a will there's a way
Dennis said with all due respect that it wasn't his intention to take Barrett's spot he just wanted some help with the
investigation in today and his abuse of children O'Connor told him not to worry about it we can smooth all that over
Barrett's gone you'll be my man here now but you'll have to play ball Dennis again refused no I don't want Jim's job
sir I want day thoroughly investigated he's an absolute disgrace to the priesthood
and he should be unfrocked Oakland I just stared at him turned his back and walked off Dennis knew he was in even
bigger trouble near a superintendent had offered him what was essentially a bribe
he looks the other way with de and leaves it to O'Connor to smooth over and as a reward he gets promoted into the
position of Barrett Barrett gets moved on elsewhere everybody's happy but Dennis refused in l1 O'Connor
ignored Dennis from that point on Dennis tried to speak to him a number of times
to find out what was happening he requested to be let back on to the investigation he believed that if he was
given the support from his superiors then he had the trust from the local community to be able to get a whole lot
more statements against Day O'Connor wasn't having any of it he warned Dennis he would be subject to disciplinary
action if he didn't stay off the case like he had been ordered just to prove a point Dennis took a twelfth statement
the boy was 11 when he was sexually assaulted what day a few weeks after arriving in Mildura to clean up the mess
O'Connor met with Bishop Mok parents he gave him an ultimatum move day on from Mildura or he would go to jail not only
was the good reputation of the Catholic Church at stake but so was the reputation of the Victorian police force
imagine if it got out that certain members of the place were protecting a pedophile priest the whispers had gotten
too loud twelve statements was too many to ignore it would be best for all concerned if the bishop moves day on so
the matter could be wrapped up nice and quietly nor cans again tried to defend day saying no though in a Barrett had
clued him but I Cana presented the seven other statements Denis had obtained since day
was questioned that shut nocturnes up two days later they announced during a church service that he had offered his
resignation from the parish which Bishop Malkin's had accepted as a result he would be leaving Mildura the community
was still divided the staunch Catholic supporters believed day was the victim of a witch hunt and had been unfairly
treated others were happy to see him go so that was it they had to leave Mildura
he wasn't arrested he never had to face court his victims never got justice instead what happened the church paid in
all expenses overseas trip today for counselling and spiritual healing Barret found himself in trouble too not only
was he protecting day but he was also acting as a stand over man for him he went under investigation for extorting
money from two men he had arrested Barrett told the men the charges would go away if they donated an appropriate
amount of money into father days building fund the building fund was for day to build himself a brand new church
and residence it was well known around town by some of the criminal element that Barrett could
help you better charge for a suitable donation to father day not only that Barrett stood over the illegal
bookmakers in town on behalf of day what he would do his approach a bookie and say father day will have ten dollars on
the winner of the last race the bookie knew exactly what that meant and it had nothing to do with gambling whichever
horse won the last race they would win whatever it paid times ten it was the cost of doing business for the illegal
bookmakers in Mildura not only was they a pedophile he was running an extortion racket with the help of a detective
Sergeant and that wasn't the only racket they had going on there was the fraud arranged by Joe Kearney the local court
clerk who was also a part of this tight-knit group he was the treasurer of the church's funds and in charge of the
money given by the government to run the to Catholic schools well Joe had set up
a nice little scam with that money he created a teacher's position that didn't exist and he hired a teacher that didn't
exist to fill that position the government paid that teacher's salary which actually went straight into the
pocket of Kearney who then passed it on to father day on top of the scams was the constant badgering of the
parishioners to donate money to the church Dave was relentless with those requests and Barrett was there holding
the bag for him making sure it was full O'Connor had gotten rid of day nice and quietly but now he had to get rid of
Barrett he couldn't risk keeping Emory in Mildura after what happened he was transferred to another station hundreds
of kilometers away out of sight out of mind the third member of their group Joe Kearney had to go as well an order had
just been conducted on the local court accounts there was money missing everywhere Kearney wasn't just skimming
the school funds but he knew too much about date and Barrett he was told if he left town and kept
mouths shut he would be spared jail he didn't have to be asked to us Kearney was also suspected of raping a woman in
the courthouse but she was too frightened to provide a statement against him so he was never charged
Dennis Ryan was still a loose end as well O'Connor sat him down and told him he was going to be charged for failing
to complete the outcome of an arrest in his diary this wasn't a criminal charge it was internal disciplinary action they
couldn't get anything serious on Dennis so they found this a trivial matter which most of the detectives in the
state probably could have been charged with if they looked close enough they were clutching at straws basically
Dennis didn't play ball so this was his reward O'Connor forwarded a final report
to the commissioner in it he said that the evidence was insufficient to prosecute father day the priest was
officially in the clear the investigation was stopped at some of the highest levels of the Victorian police
nothing came with the investigation into Barrett extorting money he kept his rank
and position within the Victorian police he remained a detective sergeant for another eight years before retiring he
died in 1997 if Dennis Ryan was allowed to stay in or juror he would have kept taking statements and investigating day
that's what he planned to do and his superiors knew it they wouldn't allow it his transfer order came through almost
immediately Dennis was told that he could apply for any station in the state of Victoria
that was available but if he wasn't successful finding anywhere by the 15th of May 1972 then he had the report to
Russell Street back in Melbourne his reward for investigating a pedophile priest and trying to get justice for the
victims was a force to transfer Dennis went off on sick leave and then offered his resignation he felt that if he left
in Mildura then the cover-up would be complete but if he stayed in Mildura then his voice could still be heard he
could keep the trust of the victims although he would no longer be a police officer and couldn't conduct the
investigation he felt it was the right thing to do the crown prosecutors completed a review of the case and
confirmed the decisions of the senior police they said in their report there is insufficient evidence to prosecute
day we trust the authorities in the church will realize that the decision not to prosecute does not arise from any
conviction that the allegations are unfounded having regard to the similarities of the various accounts it
would appear to be little doubt that they misconducted himself when they returned from his all-expenses-paid
overseas counseling trip Bishop mal Kern's sent him to a tiny parish called Tim Boone in country Victoria he was not
prevented from being in contact with children and the people of the town had no idea about days past he stayed in the
town until his death in 1978 he was 74 years old he had been a priest for 48 years at dais funeral bishop mal Kern's
talked about his great work and his humble magnificence quote Lord hear the prayers we offer for John Day your
servant and priest he faithfully fulfilled his ministry in your name may he rejoice forever in the Fellowship
of the Saints many of those victims descended into alcoholism drug abuse in some committed suicide
Dennis remained in Mildura his wife left him a few years after he left the police
force he didn't stay quiet about day or the cover-up by the church and members of the police force but his pleas were
ignored for many many years the official file said that Dennis had resigned from the police due to a
personal conflict with Jim Barrett and that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute day that was it as the years
went on and senior officers turned over when any of them looked at the file that's what they saw things are
obviously a lot different today in 1972 no priest had ever stood before a judge charged with a child sex offense it was
unheard of then priests could do no wrong they held positions of trust in the community and were held in high
regard spiritual guardians today it's not unheard of for a priest to be charged with a child sex offense it's
acknowledged now that there was a serious problem with some priests and a lot of crimes have been covered up over
the years the Catholic Church set up a compensation fund in Australia called towards healing giving money to victims
of abuse but to get the money the victims have to sign a nondisclosure agreement in 2006 Denis Ryan was told
that over 100 people had come forward to claim compensation as a direct result of
sexual and indecent assaults committed by father day and they weren't just from your juror they had committed his
horrific acts at his other parishes as well they were also covered up when the rumors got too loud and complaints
started to be made against him the bishop simply moved him on to another parish des was given a fresh start in a
new town to ruin the lives of more victims the Catholic mafia element of the Victorian police force that existed
between the 1950s and 1970s is long gone religion itself is nowhere near as prominent in society and in turn the
police force as it was back then times have changed in 2012 Denis Ryan published a book called unholy trinity
which gives his account of the story that book was read at some of the highest levels of the victorian
government and police force that was also used in the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sex
abuse this Royal Commission is still taking place today covering different reports of abuse from all over the
country a lot of different cases and offenders and responses to those cases are still being looked at one case the
Royal Commission dealt with was that a father day in 2015 the Royal Commission heard about the sexual and indecent
assaults committed by father day under the cover-up of Denis Ryan's work by other officers former Victorian Police
Commissioner Mick Miller had this to say to the Commission quote without doubt there was misconduct by senior Victorian
police officers including dereliction of duty conspiracy to pervert the course of
justice and inciting other members of the police force to join the conspiracy against Denis Ryan in order to conceal
crimes committed by day Dennis himself gave evidence of the commission his story was finally taken
as fact no longer was he being ignored it was accepted there was a cover-up of days crimes by some bishops and by some
police officers it was accepted that a group of police existed that put a halt to any investigation into a priest the
group was known as the Catholic mafia a lot of the members would remain unknown but they certainly wilted their
influence in Mildura in the early 70s the room erupted in applause when Dennis stepped down from
the witness box after giving his evidence it was only last month August 2016 that Dennis
Foley's final vindication current Victorian Police Commissioner Graham Ashton invited Dennis to a morning tea
Ashton himself had once told a state parliamentary inquiry quote the processes of the Catholic Church are
designed to put the reputation of the church first under the victims second commissioner Ashton made an official
apology to Dennis on behalf of the Victorian police he said Dennis you were right and your commitment has been
outstanding Dennis accepted the apology and read from a prepared statement saying quote
in my day as of Detective I became aware and indeed had my career roughly ended by some of the most senior members of
the force who had a distorted sense of loyalty to other institutions that failure led to what I have described as
an epidemic of clerical child sex abuse in Victoria that the Catholic Church covered up and engaged in criminal
conspiracies brings great shame on that institution but the failures of policing
in pursuit of that distorted sense of loyalty led one victim to become - to become 10 and awfully and finally for
the number of victims to become too large to count my own circumstances have been distinctly grim since I left the
force but as dark as some of those days have been they have no parallel with those forced to endure the pain
and suffering of sexual abuse what makes it worse and haunts my dreams to this day is that if we as police did what we
were supposed to do what we were charged to do what we took an oath to do so much
of that pain and suffering would not exist today [Music]

Case 34: The Catholic Mafia

[WARNING – This episode deals with child sex abuse. It will not be suitable for all listeners.]

Father John Day was a Catholic priest who graduated from Corpus Christi College in Melbourne in 1927. Corpus Christi is one of Australia’s leading priesthood training colleges…

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Anonymous Host Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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Brief Summary

Father John Day's abuse and police complicity are exposed through Dennis Ryan's investigation, revealing systemic failures in protecting victims.

Key points

The Encounter in St. Kilda. In 1956, police officer Dennis Ryan discovers a priest in a compromising situation.
The Catholic Mafia. Dennis Ryan is invited to join a secret group protecting priests from charges.
Denis's Discovery. Dennis finds disturbing photographs in Detective Barrett's drawer.
The Withdrawn Complaint. A parent withdraws a complaint against Father Day after pressure from Detective Barrett.
Judge's Concern. Judge Joe Hayes expresses concern about Detective Barrett's handling of young girls' statements.
Dennis's Investigation Stalled. Dennis faces pushback from superiors as he investigates Father Day's abuses.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

We don't lock them up, we let them go.

Tom Jenkins on handling priests.

5:59WatchNov 19, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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