Paedophile victim tells of 'insensitive' Lucas interview

The victim’s statement to police was released on Monday as Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC continues preparing her report into the Catholic Church’s handling of sexual abuse claims in the Hunter.

The victim was molested by McAlinden and later disclosed the offending to Father Alan Hart while Bishop Leo Clark was also informed, the statement said.

Father Hart asked the victim if she wanted to go to the police, but she wrote that she didn’t want McAlinden to go to jail.

She said she wanted him supervised by the church and removed from having any contact with children.

‘‘We’ve been waiting for this day,’’ Father Hart replied, the statement said.

‘‘We have had numerous complaints of sexual abuse from young parishioners over the years.

‘‘We have never been able to pin him down as he has always had the excuse that it was an accident or had not realised he had touched that area.’’

She said Father Hart and Bishop Clark arranged for her to be interviewed by Father Lucas in the early 1990s after she was told that Father Lucas was a lawyer, as well as priest, who was highly thought of in the church.

She described Father Lucas’s manner as ‘‘very cold and insensitive’’ resulting in her not disclosing all that she knew.

She was told that McAlinden was ordered to fly to NSW from Western Australia for questioning, but he went missing.

Despite this, she still believed the church was doing its best to deal with the matter.

She said Father Lucas rang her in 1993 to tell her that McAlinden had been ‘‘removed’’ after he made admissions, but she also learned that her allegations weren’t put to McAlinden.

She said she felt cheated by the way Father Lucas conducted his inquiries.

She later learned that McAlinden was still ‘‘walking free’’ as if nothing had happened.

Commissioner Cunneen is expected to deliver her findings on May 31.