Holy Hell

by Patricia Feenan

  I had also completed my statement by then and I know that the other family members all took their turns in that chair. The coffee bill at the police station must be considerable. There would have been a lot of police work in the following weeks of which I know nothing but we were told by Detective Sergeant Fox that the priest had been asked to come to Maitland Police Station at 9.30 on the morning of the 14th of May. I had dinner with Daniel and his family on the night of the 13th and we talked quietly about the imminent arrest of Fletcher. Many, many emotions were encountered that night and it was futile to try and sleep. In the dawn I realised that my main hope was for the legal system not to let us down because the Catholic Church had when it failed so badly in its duty of care to my whole family.

  Of course Fletcher turned up with a solicitor and support clergy. Remember, he had had eleven months to prepare for this very visit, courtesy of the tip off from Bishop Malone. There was no search warrant executed on his presbytery as any damning material would have long been destroyed. He was formally arrested and charged with nine counts of sexual abuse against our son. It was explained to us that although there were numerous occasions of abuse, the Police and DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) had settled on nine strong charges.

  We were further upset to have our suspicions confirmed and learn that one of the charges related to the night of my father-in-law’s birthday. Fletcher had arranged to meet our son at the end of a street near the birthday party and he drove him to a vacant block of land and abused him. We were shattered to learn that the egotistical priest had chosen Fletcher St in Adamstown for his disgusting pleasure. What monster could calmly face us at mass the next morning and reassure us that Daniel was a typical teenager wanting only to stretch his wings.

  Fletcher was bailed to appear at Newcastle Local Court on the 25th of July.

  Interestingly, he denied knowing our family very well and said we were just people in the parish. He must have forgotten about my role as member and then Chairperson of his Parish council for about five years, my husband’s work on his Finance Committee and the four boys’ roles as altar servers. I asked Peter Fox if he would like the photos of him attending dinners at our home and my fortieth birthday and also a stack of birthday cards from him. He was delighted to have them.

  The media! The combination of a well known and local Catholic priest having alleged sexual assault charges against him and the fact of him obviously being left in the parish during the course of the investigation was too good a story opportunity to be ignored by the media. The arrest was a big swallow for some of us as we prepared for the next phase and with the benefit of hindsight we really didn’t have a clue of how traumatic it was going to be. But really, who would? The headlines blared, the reporters busied themselves and it wasn’t long before the Bishop found himself very defensive about his own role. A few people patted me on the arm in crowds and I realised that somehow they knew the victim’s identity. Conversely, some people ignored us or hurriedly looked away in shopping centres and refused to make eye contact and we realised they also knew. I’m not sure whether they looked away in embarrassment or disbelief. I can’t explain the emotions or motives of the man from Dungog parish who ran his supermarket trolley into me but I commenced wearing sunglasses when in crowded places from that day.

  It wasn’t long before the Diocesan rumour mill activated itself and stories and versions started to circulate. Newcastle is a particularly insular place and long time residents would acknowledge that numerous associations through school, tertiary education, parishes, sport and workplaces mean that Novocastrians constantly meet and reconnect. One may not know the person sitting beside himself or herself at a dinner party but it doesn’t take long to establish a connection of knowing the same friends or people. Therefore the setting and players of this particular story were talked about in all manner of places. We heard some ghastly rumours and were upset often.

  The anonymous phone calls were unsettling and I realised that if the priest’s supporters had my phone number, then they automatically had my address. I had many sleepless nights. It must have been very difficult for my husband as he worked in the Catholic Church environment. He told me that many people avoided him and others took great pains to avoid any mention of his sons, any of them. However, he did have a few loyal and supportive priests to talk to but only a few of the sixty or so in the diocese were brave enough to extend to him the offer of support. Very priestly wouldn’t you say.

  We were particularly sad to hear that prayers were asked for Father Jim at Branxton parish. I certainly didn’t mind if people wanted to pray for him and I privately thought that he would need heaps of prayers to endure the legal process ahead but there was no mention of prayers for the alleged victim, my son. Surely he deserved the same courtesy and pastoral support as the accused priest? I believe one brave priest eventually tried to address this very issue and suffered the consequence of breaking ranks.

  I was told later that the prayers for the priest still happened, they had just gone underground. I can say that the family of James Fletcher were in my own thoughts and prayers at this time. I acknowledge that they loved their son, brother and uncle and they would have been very upset I’m sure. I don’t know if they felt my prayers or if they prayed for us. I didn’t blame them if they in fact hated our family.

  When the dust settled after the arrest, I decided to contact the Catholic Church’s Professional Standards office. I was still worried about the Bishop’s intervention and I recognised that I was struggling myself with the horror of the knowledge of the abuse against Daniel.

  I wrote that I wished to make an allegation of emotional and spiritual abuse and of mental shock and cruelty by Father Fletcher to myself. I wrote of my desolation and loneliness for the church and my dismay when I learned that a priest who celebrated mass in my home, who purported to be a spiritual adviser to my family and who had encouraged me to play such an active role in my church community was a criminal of the worst kind. The local diocesan community were not supportive so I thought that the Church, through their Towards Healing program might be able to help me.

  Wrong! The reply from the Director of Professional Standards dated the 16 th of June, 2003, was disappointing and depressing and furthered my developing view that the church did not want to know about this troubled family. The Director wrote: “I write this letter to confirm my telephone advice of 5 June 2003 that your statement of complaint is not caught within Towards Healing, given that the definition of Emotional/Psychological abuse is only applicable to such abuse occasioned directly to a child victim.” He had told me in the phone conversation that my complaint was not captured by the guidelines of their organisation and I asked him to put it in writing. For Christ’s sake this was my beloved son and their guidelines were cowardly.

  I made an undertaking to myself that when the legal proceedings were over, I would write and protest and write and agitate and write and convince until the bloody guidelines were changed to include the families of victims. The recognition by the church of the enormous damage done to families by the abuse, the knowledge of the abuse and the terrible breach of trust was and is very important to me.

  15

  Our first time at Court was memorable. We arrived together and stood about outside on the footpath. One of the boys spied Fletcher up the street but on the other side. He was wearing huge dark glasses. I had not seen him for a few years and had an overwhelming desire to go and confront him. The two policemen with us warned me to keep my distance and ignore him. I know that Daniel’s two brothers who were with us, wanted to knock him to the ground, at the very least. Same warning to them. A busy Courthouse verandah is not such a pleasant place and we began to feel uneasy as people surged around us exhibiting varying degrees of temperament. A little room was found for us and we crowded in. Daniel and Donna, his fiancée, talked quietly in the corner and we were warned not to talk about anything pertaining to the charges. We had noticed one of Fletcher’s mates, a minister from a
nother denomination church, smoking near us earlier so we heeded the instruction.

  There was a rustle of activity and the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions lawyer and officers went by wheeling a large suitcase. A lot of statements had been taken and along with items gathered, this paperwork formed the brief of evidence to be presented to the Court. We were invited to enter the court room’s ante chamber and had to go through a checkpoint. There, manning the scanner, was a lady we had known many years before. She asked in a very friendly fashion about the boys and what they were all doing now and I think I just looked at her stupidly. Surely they have tact classes in Court personnel training. There we were with three of the aforementioned boys and she was rabbiting on about them.

  Once inside, we were confronted, at fairly close range, by Fletcher’s supporters. We knew most of them and that hurt. Daniel was particularly upset to see the parents of a girl he had been very friendly with at school and of course they just stared at us. Fletcher’s friend, Father Des Harrigan was also there and he avoided contact as well. Father Jim Saunders ushered Fletcher through and into the court room and then came and sat between the two camps. He did greet us and I silently thanked him for his fairness and priestliness.

  We were all invited in to the courtroom and in a very rapid process heard Fletcher plead Not Guilty to the charges. Another court date was set and we drove to a quiet place for lunch together. Daniel’s support person, a very old friend with a happy and positive personality was a decided asset that day.

  Up until this plea of Not Guilty, we had all nurtured the hope that the priest would plead guilty and that of course would save Daniel from the daunting experience of being the chief prosecution witness in a criminal trial. That was not to be however and so we embarked on a long process of Hearings, Adjournments, and Appearances.

  The year dragged on and Christmas came and went. By this time, Daniel had decided to give up work and was in fact unable to work. We were finally given a date for a trial. It was to be the 31st of May, 2004 at East Maitland Courthouse. This old building is sited on a hill, surrounded by Jacaranda trees and is quite picturesque but is dominated by Maitland Gaol which is just across the road. Our family had all driven by it many times, never imagining we would be one day having such horrible business there. We now had something definite to work towards. Family members arranged holidays and work schedules. I guess we were all walking on egg shells with Daniel and doing a lot of counting down. Daniel, understandably, wasn’t sleeping well and I know the stress was beginning to mount for the rest of us. Our lives were certainly on hold as we prepared for a dreadful experience.

  On the 26th of April I received a phone call at work from Detective Fox. He had rung me there on numerous occasions during his investigations and I was well supported by my boss as he allowed me to take the calls and then gave me time out if I was upset. We had agreed, with Daniel’s permission, that I would field the phone calls from the police and the DPP as Daniel was understandably often upset by them. The idea was for me to gauge Daniel’s emotional state and composure and choose the appropriate time to discuss the latest development with him. On this occasion, Detective Fox told me he had something to tell me and asked if I was I sitting down.

  He told me that there had been a major development in his investigation and that another alleged victim of Fletcher had come forward. I remember saying “Thank Christ!” That was going to be a large help in Daniel’s quest for justice, but I certainly had regrets for the pain of another victim. All along, the police suspected that Fletcher was so complete a paedophile that there had to be other victims out there. All the police could tell me was that this latest victim was older than Daniel and that he didn’t know Daniel at all. I asked what would happen as the trial was only five weeks away and he told me that he couldn’t say at that stage but it may have an effect on the trial date. He did say that this was a very important development and could only help the Prosecution’s case.

  Relieved would be an apt description of the reaction of Daniel’s father when I phoned him immediately after the police call. We believed the knowledge of a new victim would take some of the pressure off our family and perhaps convince the non believers of the truth of the charges the priest was facing. I rang Daniel and asked if he could call in on his way home as I had something to tell him. I can still clearly remember the look on his face when I told him that there was another victim.

  He looked at me and quietly said that now people would believe him. We both talked about the effect it might have on the trial date and of course we wondered about the identity of the other person. I remembered that Daniel had told me that Fletcher didn’t know it was him ringing on the night of that Sixty Minutes program and I now realised that there was another possibility as far as the priest was concerned. He left to go home and then I held my breath. I realised that Daniel was pleased about the new development but I feared that when he thought about it, he would be very hurt. He still had mixed feelings about the priest. Sure enough, by the next night he had considered the bigger picture and he became very upset. He rang for help and I wasn’t surprised to hear him say that through the whole assault time frame he thought and had been told that he was very special to the priest. Now he realised that he was just ‘the next one on the list!’

  Daniel’s brothers were shocked about the new developments as they considered the ramifications of the priest’s predatory behaviour. They all realised that he had indeed targeted their beloved elder brother. My son who was living in Canberra became very upset. I had one long night with him on the phone and he was very drunk and very emotional. He told me that he had always believed Daniel’s allegations but somehow the knowledge of another person’s pain had ‘cemented the story’ for him. As he was about five hours away, I was in a bit of a dilemma about how to help him. All mothers would understand my anxiety. When that child calls for help, we swing into mother bear mode.

  Luckily, I remembered a school friend who lived in Canberra and luckier still, she was home when I rang her. What a good friend she was to have listened to my hasty story and offered to help straight away. She arranged to see Dominic in the next few hours and with one of her own sons accompanying her, took Dominic to lunch, calmed him and arranged a visit to a lovely young Catholic priest. Strange remedy some may say, but he was a great man who acknowledged the pain caused to Dom’s family by the paedophile priest and apologised. It is strange to reflect on a complete stranger apologising to our family, when the Maitland Newcastle Catholic diocese was not able to offer any solace or even prayers to help us through that enormous distress. Calming words, a good night’s sleep and he was a whole lot better.

  16

  Daniel settled down and listened to the advice and instructions from the police and the DPP. They believed their case against Fletcher would be strengthened if they could include the statement of evidence from the next victim which Peter Fox had completed. Apparently the Defence has to have all the evidence from the Prosecution a certain time before a trial and in this case, there wasn’t enough time to include it. Therefore, they applied to have the trial date vacated. They also had explained before, that Fletcher’s trial had not been given a Priority One status and there was a strong chance that the trial may not have proceeded on the 31st of May anyway. We were all very disappointed but did accept that a later date might give a better chance for a better outcome.

  Because of our inexperience with the law we were very appreciative of the several opportunities we were given to become acquainted with the Crown’s desire to establish tendency and similarity evidence by using the new victim’s statement. If his evidence could be allowed to be heard during the trial, it would demonstrate that Fletcher had the preponderance to prey on and molest small boys even before he had met Daniel. From what I did know of the law, I had the opinion that a victim could be disadvantaged by it. An accused person could be on trial for an offence and have a long history of similar charges, even imprisonment. The jury, as the law s
tood then, were unable to be told of those previous offences so as not to disadvantage the accused and to ensure he or she had a fair trial. Proclivity could not be established and cases were often very difficult to prove without it.

  After discussing my concerns, about the length of time the whole process was taking, with officers from the DPP and the Police, I decided to write to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General. I explained my concerns about the toll it was taking on the family and of course Daniel in particular, and asked that a new trial date be set with a Priority One status. I felt strongly that we were all desperate to get it over and done with before another Christmas and we wanted to try and resume some sort of normal lives. What relief we would experience if a New Year dawned and the muck was over! I did receive very courteous replies and was told that correct protocols were being observed by the various departments.

  The Attorney General wrote and informed me with the following:

  “…Director of Public Prosecutions assures me that his officers are doing everything they can to deal with the matter as quickly as possible. However, the interests of fairness require the court to be satisfied that both the prosecution and defence have adequate time to prepare their cases. Thus, when new evidence is presented that strengthens the case of the prosecution, the court allows the defence time to respond to it. Otherwise, there is a chance that decisions may be reversed on appeal.”