Deadline extended for victims of alleged pedophile cop

News, Crime

Victims of an alleged pedophile police officer will have another month to share their experiences of abuse as part of an independent review.

Tasmania Police Senior Sergeant Paul Reynolds, who worked for a decade after accusations were first raised against him, took his own life in September 2018 while being investigated over child sexual abuse allegations.

He was afforded a full guard-of-honour police funeral, despite the force knowing of the allegations against him – a mistake Tasmania Police later apologised for.

A commission of inquiry, which released its final report in September, found the force's approach in 2008 to investigating suspicions Snr Sgt Reynolds was a pedophile was “inadequate”.

Tasmania Police in October announced an independent review would assess whether Snr Sgt Reynolds used his position to groom and abuse young people.

Submissions to the review opened on October 12, with barrister and head of the probe Regina Weiss calling for witnesses and members of the public to share information about Snr Sgt Reynolds until November 30.

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Ms Weiss on Tuesday announced the deadline for submissions was extended until December 31 to allow as many people as possible to share their experiences.

“There has been a significant uptake since the call for submissions opened on 12 October, covering a time period of more than 30 years,” Ms Weiss said in a statement.

“Anyone who wishes to be heard, will be heard.”

The barrister urged anyone who was groomed or sexually abused by Snr Sgt Reynolds or other Tasmania Police personnel to come forward, and said private sessions with review participants would continue into the new year.

An interim report on the review's progress will be submitted at the end of January.

The review will be made public once it is completed.

A coroner's report published in September said allegations against Snr Sgt Reynolds were made to police professional standards on September 6, 2018.

The allegations included Snr Sgt Reynolds being “widely reputed” in his local area to be a pedophile and that several children and adults had relevant information.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028

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