Nicknamed “Mr Paedophile” by one of his young charges convicted sex offender Shannon McCoole was identified as “high risk” and “very unsuitable” during an application process for work for SA families but was hired anyway, a royal commission has heard.
McCoole was arrested in 2014 and in August last year sentenced to 35 years’ jail for 18 state and two federal offences, including persistent sexual exploitation of children, sexual intercourse with children, and the production and dissemination of child pornography.
The Child Protection Systems Royal Commission is examining how McCoole, who was also an administrator of a global child pornography website, was able to commit offences against children in his care between 2011 and 2014.
In her opening statement yesterday, Counsel Assisting, Emily Telfer, said McCoole’s offending began almost immediately after he started work with at-risk children in residential care.
“The frequency and severity of his offending was breathtaking,” Telfer said.
Some of the incidents that raised concern a colleague walking in on McCoole holding a child’s legs open on a change table with no nappy in sight and another co-worker who saw McCoole allowing a child to place their hand on his crotch.
According to Ms Telfer a number of “red flag” incidents occurred and “if investigated or highlighted, have led to greater scrutiny on McCoole’s activities” but MCoole continued working with children until the day before his arrest in June 2014.
McCoole was arrested only after Danish police alerted Australian authorities of his connection to online child abuse images.
When police searched Mr McCoole’s home they found more than 53,000 child abuse images – 600 relating to his own abusive acts.
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