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- Understanding child sexual abuse in institutional contexts
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Case Study 38: Criminal justice issues
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- Final Report
- Case Studies
- Case Study 38: Criminal justice issues
Final report
- Previously redacted reports
- Commissioners
- Terms of Reference
- Recommendations
- Preface and Executive Summary
- Our inquiry
- Understanding child sexual abuse in institutional contexts
- Child safe institutions
- Support and treatment
- Particular institutions
- Beyond the Royal Commission
- Redress and civil litigation
- Criminal justice
- Working With Children Checks
- Interim report
- Case studiesClose
- First Sitting: April 2013, Sydney
- Case Study 1: Scouts and Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Service
- Case Study 2: YMCA NSW
- Case Study 3: North Coast Children’s Home
- Case Study 4: The Towards Healing process
- Case Study 5: The Salvation Army boys’ homes, Australia Eastern Territory
- Case Study 6: Toowoomba Catholic school and Catholic Education Office
- Case Study 7: Parramatta Training School for Girls
- Case Study 8: Mr John Ellis, Towards Healing and civil litigation
- Case Study 9: St Ann’s Special School
- Case Study 10: The Salvation Army claims handling, Australia Eastern Territory
- Case Study 11: Christian Brothers
- Case Study 12: Perth independent school
- Case Study 13: Marist Brothers
- Case Study 14: Catholic Diocese of Wollongong
- Case Study 15: Swimming Australia and the DPP
- Case Study 16: Melbourne Response
- Case Study 17: Retta Dixon Home
- Case Study 18: Australian Christian Churches
- Case Study 19: Bethcar Children’s Home
- Case Study 20: The Hutchins School
- Case Study 21: Satyananda Yoga Ashram
- Case Study 22: Yeshiva Bondi and Yeshivah Melbourne
- Case Study 23: Knox Grammar School
- Case Study 24: Out-of-home care
- Case Study 25: Redress and civil litigation
- Case Study 26: St Joseph’s Orphanage, Neerkol
- Case Study 27: Health care providers and regulators, New South Wales and Victoria
- Case Study 28: Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat
- Directions hearing: July 2015, Sydney
- Case Study 29: Jehovah’s Witnesses
- Case Study 30: Youth detention centres, Victoria
- Case Study 31: Retired Catholic Bishop Geoffrey Robinson
- Case Study 32: Geelong Grammar School
- Case Study 33: The Salvation Army children’s homes, Australia Southern Territory
- Case Study 34: Brisbane Grammar School and St Paul’s School
- Case Study 35: Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne
- Case Study 36: Church of England Boys’ Society
- Case Study 37: Centres for performing arts
- Case Study 38: Criminal justice issues
- Case Study 39: Sporting clubs and institutions
- Case Study 40: Australian Defence Force
- Case Study 41: Disability service providers
- Case Study 42: Anglican Diocese of Newcastle
- Case Study 43: Catholic Church authorities in Maitland-Newcastle
- Case Study 44: Catholic Church authorities in Armidale and Parramatta
- Case Study 45: Harmful sexual behaviours of children in schools
- Case Study 46: On the criminal justice consultation paper
- Case Study 47: Institutional review of YMCA NSW
- Case Study 48: Institutional review of Scouts and Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Service
- Case Study 49: Institutional review of The Salvation Army
- Case Study 50: Institutional review of Catholic Church authorities
- Case Study 51: Institutional review of Commonwealth, state and territory governments
- Case Study 52: Institutional review of Anglican Church authorities
- Case Study 53: Institutional review of Yeshiva/h
- Case Study 54: Institutional review of the Jehovah’s Witnesses
- Case Study 55: Institutional review of Australian Christian Churches
- Case Study 56: Institutional review of Uniting Church in Australia
- Case Study 57: Nature, cause and impact of child sexual abuse
- Final sitting: December 2017, Sydney
- Previously redacted reports
The Royal Commission held a public hearing in Sydney from Tuesday 15 to Thursday 24 March 2016.
The public hearing inquired into criminal justice issues relating to child sexual abuse in an institutional context.
The scope and purpose of the public hearing was to inquire into:
- The experiences of survivors of child sexual abuse in an institutional context in the criminal justice system as complainants against an accused who was the subject of allegations by more than one complainant.
- The admissibility and use of evidence variously described as:
- tendency and coincidence evidence;
- propensity and similar fact evidence;
- evidence of discreditable conduct; and
- evidence of bad character, and the law and practice concerning when charges in relation to multiple complainants of child sexual abuse in an institutional context against a single accused may be tried together in a joint trial.
- The experiences of survivors, particularly young children and people with disability, in reporting child sexual abuse in an institutional context to police and in being complainants in prosecutions.
- How the requirements of the criminal justice system, including in relation to oral evidence and cross examination, affect the investigation and prosecution of allegations of child sexual abuse in an institutional context, particularly where the complainant is a young child or a person with disability.
- Any other related matters.
Opinion of Counsel Assisting in relation to week one of the hearing
Exhibits
See all exhibits for this case study