Detective Patrick Cleary, 31, committed suicide at work on November 24, 2005, only months after taking charge of a NSW Police unit investigating child sexual abuse. He did not leave a note.

John Cleary – Newcastle Anglican diocese business manager since January, 2007 – gave evidence at a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse public hearing into child sexual abuse within the church in the Hunter, just a day before the 11^th anniversary of his brother’s death.

“Today is a big day not only at the commission but also for my family,” Mr Cleary said.

“Pat’s work in child protection disturbed him and took his young life away from him. Growing up, neither of us would have thought our careers would have crossed paths. Our family are so proud of him.”

Mr Cleary said his work for nearly a decade “speaking out and unravelling a sick culture of child sexual abuse in the Anglican Church” was a direct response to his brother’s death. “I carry his legacy,” he said.

He gave evidence about his shock on gradually realising the extent of child sexual abuse allegations involving clergy in the Hunter, and his growing devastation at the responses of senior Anglicans in the diocese to that abuse.

In Newcastle in August a key witness at the royal commission’s 42^nd public hearing, an abuse survivor known as CKA who gave evidence of reporting serious child sexual abuse to senior clergy from as early as 1984, singled out Mr Cleary and director of professional standards Michael Elliott as two men who stood up for victims.

CKA said the church only made progress after Mr Cleary was appointed, and later employed Mr Elliott.

“Unfortunately for John, he was still stuck with the same - I use the term - mob of crooks above him,” CKA said.

CKA told the royal commission he dealt with “bishops and clergy who I believe knew full well” what an alleged offender priest was doing “and yet did nothing".

The royal commission has already heard sensational evidence about senior Newcastle Anglicans and their responses to the establishment of the royal commission in November, 2012, based on file notes kept by Mr Cleary in the wake of entrenched opposition to current Newcastle Anglican Bishop Greg Thompson.

The royal commission has also heard accusations that a “group of 15” parishioners who supported defrocked former Dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence were part of a campaign to undermine Bishop Thompson’s attempts to confront and change the diocese’s culture and responses to abuse. Mr Cleary’s file note of a meeting between himself and solicitor and former diocesan trustee Keith Allen in early 2015 revealed a secret diocese system of “brown envelopes” dealing with sexual abuse and child sexual abuse allegations against clergy.

Mr Cleary recorded Mr Allen saying Graeme Lawrence would be a focus of the royal commission and any police investigation and that Lawrence would ‘’bring others down’’.

Mr Cleary recorded Mr Allen saying that “the biggest concern in the Newcastle diocese was Bishop Roger Herft. He indicated that Herft will be in trouble. This was mainly because of Herft’s handling of the brown envelopes through Herft’s brown envelope advisory/review committee”.

Mr Allen responded that none of the committee members knew any identifying details. Mr Cleary’s file note included references to Mr Allen saying the best approach to dealing with the royal commission was to say: “You have no files or notes and that you can only rely on your memory. This will prevent cross examination by lawyers.”

After repeatedly prefacing his answers to questions at the royal commission by saying he had no notes and was relying on his memory, Mr Allen agreed that he was probably following his own advice.

The royal commission has also heard evidence that Mr Cleary registered his strong opposition to amendments to the diocese’s professional standards processes in 2012 to the then Newcastle Anglican Bishop Brian Farran. Mr Cleary believed the amendments appeared driven by alleged perpetrators and their supporters.

Mr Cleary advised Bishop Farran that “many would argue the behaviour should change rather than the policy”, and said he could not register the change.

John Cleary was a Commonwealth Bank executive manager before taking up the position of Newcastle Anglican diocese business manager in January, 2007.

He has spoken publicly about the common story of survivors within the Anglican Church who “reported their story, nothing was done, they were either bullied, intimidated or just there was non-action, no investigation”.

He has told of being subject to a death threat before he was due to give evidence in the Supreme Court on an Anglican Church child sexual abuse matter. He had “no doubt” his work and the responses from senior people within the diocese had put pressure on his marriage and family life.

His brother Patrick was head of the Chatswood Joint Investigation Response Team for only four months before taking his life. The team, made up of NSW Police detectives and Department of Community Services investigators, dealt with child sexual abuse cases.

Lifeline: 13 11 14