Shameful Honour: How Tasmania Police Gave a Paedophile Cop a Full Funeral Despite Child Abuse Allegations
- A Tasmanian police officer accused of child sexual abuse was granted a full police funeral, sparking outrage and calls for accountability
- The funeral was approved by then-commissioner Darren Hine, who also delivered an address in honour of the deceased officer
- A review into the handling of the allegations has been labelled as having a “narrow scope”, with the Tasmanian Greens calling for a parliamentary committee to investigate further
In a shocking display of institutional failure, a paedophile cop was given a full police funeral in Tasmania, despite being under investigation for child sexual abuse at the time of his death. The funeral, approved by then-commissioner Darren Hine, has sparked outrage and raised serious questions about how Tasmania Police handled the allegations against Paul Reynolds.
Reynolds died by suicide in 2018, just a day after police seized his electronic devices as part of an investigation into child sexual abuse allegations. Despite this, Hine granted him a full police funeral, complete with an address in his honour. The decision has been labelled as “wrong” by current Police Minister Felix Ellis, and has sparked calls for a parliamentary committee to investigate how the allegations were handled.
A review into the handling of the allegations, conducted by former war crimes prosecutor Regina Weiss, identified up to 52 male victims of Reynolds over a 30-year period. The review was critical of how Tasmania Police handled a 2008 report that referenced Reynolds as a “paedophile”, and found that he was sending explicit messages to “no less than nine teenage boys” up to the day of his death.
The Tasmanian Greens have been critical of the scope of the review, arguing that it did not have the ability to fully investigate how police responded to known allegations. Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff has called for a more comprehensive review, saying that victim-survivors had demanded greater scrutiny of how child sexual abuse matters were handled, and that further information had since emerged.
Analysis: What This Means for Australia
The granting of a full police funeral to a paedophile cop raises serious questions about the accountability of Tasmania Police and the handling of child sexual abuse allegations. It is a stark reminder of the need for greater transparency and scrutiny in the way that these allegations are handled, and the importance of holding those in positions of power accountable for their actions. The failure to properly investigate and respond to these allegations has had devastating consequences for the victims of Reynolds’ abuse, and has eroded trust in the institution of policing.
Security analysts say that the failure to properly investigate and respond to child sexual abuse allegations is a major concern for national security, as it can allow predators to continue to operate with impunity. Law enforcement insiders warn that the lack of accountability in the handling of these allegations has created a culture of silence and complicity, which can have far-reaching consequences for public safety.
Industry observers believe that the granting of a full police funeral to a paedophile cop is a symptom of a larger problem within Tasmania Police, and that a comprehensive review is needed to identify and address the systemic failures that allowed this to happen. Until then, the people of Tasmania will be left wondering how such a egregious failure of accountability was allowed to occur.