Casefile True Crime - Case 34: The Catholic Mafia

Episode Date: September 25, 2016

[WARNING – This episode deals with child sex abuse. It will not be suitable for all listeners.] In the early 1960s, Victorian Detective Denis Ryan was transferred from Melbourne to the regional town of Mildura where he soon ran into a familiar face – local priest, Father John Day. The two had encountered one another before during a less than savoury incident in St Kilda several years prior.  --- For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-34-catholic-mafia

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It will not be suitable for all listeners. Father John Day was a Catholic priest who graduated from Corpus Christi College in Melbourne, 1927. Corpus Christi is one of Australia's leading priesthood training colleges. Day was given his first parish in 1936 at Colac, about 150km southwest of Melbourne. He spent three years there before being transferred north to Ararat, which is a two hour drive away. He spent nine years there before being transferred to Horsham, a further hour north. After two years at Horsham, Day found himself heading back south to Beach Forest where he spent two years. From there he went to Apollo Bay, a coastal town in southern Victoria.

It was during his two years at Apollo Bay that Day first met police officer Dennis Ryan. Dennis Ryan joined the Victorian police force in 1952. He had a strong Catholic faith and was a regular churchgoer with his family. Out of the academy he was sent to Russell Street police headquarters where he did various duties and learnt the ropes of policing. All new recruits were sent to Russell Street at that time. After finishing up at Russell Street, Dennis cut his teeth working on patrol in St Kilda, only eight kilometres outside of Melbourne Central Business District. It was 1956. Dennis had been a police officer for four years.

Father John Day had been a Catholic priest for 29 years. Day was in charge of the Apollo Bay parish, but had found his way into St Kilda for the night, about a two hour and 40 minute drive away from home. Music In 1956 St Kilda was known as the Red Light District around Melbourne. All sorts of colourful characters could be found wandering the streets, especially late at night. It was just after 1am and Dennis Ryan was working a patrol car. He was with two more experienced officers at the time.

One of those senior officers was Tom Jenkins, a war veteran and fine police officer who Dennis had a deep respect for. They noticed a new expensive looking car driving down the streets of St Kilda, but something didn't fit. They recognised the driver. She was a well known sex worker in the area, and they knew she didn't own a car. So what was she doing driving this expensive new car at one o'clock in the morning? They pulled her over, and as they approached the vehicle they saw she wasn't alone. Another well known female sex worker was in the car with her. As they got closer still, they realised the two girls weren't alone. The car had a bench seat, and lying with his head in one girl's lap and his feet across the other girl's lap was a man.

His pants and underwear were down around his ankles. He was blind drunk with an empty bottle of booze in his hand, and he could barely string two words together. Generally this wouldn't have been an unusual sight in the streets of St Kilda at the time. Certainly nothing the police hadn't seen before. At least it wouldn't have been unusual if the man wasn't wearing the black shirt and white clerical collar of a priest. Dennis asked the girls what was going on. They replied, he's a regular. He lets us drive his car around. The two girls were told to take off.

One of the officers drove the priest's vehicle back to the station while the others followed behind in the police car. The priest was Father John Day, at the time working at the Apollo Bay Parish 200 kilometres away. They helped Father Day inside the station and called St Patrick's Cathedral in East Melbourne. The officers explained the situation. At the time this was a criminal offence. Dennis was shocked at what he was seeing. As a devout Catholic he was appalled at the behaviour of Day. Two young, uncomfortable looking priests from St Patrick's Cathedral arrived at the station 20 minutes later.

The senior officers gave Day a stern warning. That if he was caught in a situation like that again he would be arrested and charged. But for now he was free to go. Dennis Ryan openly questioned why Day had been let off so easily. One of the senior officers told him, I've been around this force long enough to know that we don't charge priests short of a murder blue. Dennis was told he would be best to forget what he had seen, just let it go. Even if they had charged the priest it would have never made it to court.

This ate away at Dennis for weeks. He was very uncomfortable with what had happened. Just because Day is a priest why should he get a free pass? He should be held to a higher moral standard. Dennis couldn't shake it and decided to have another chat with Tom Jenkins, the senior officer he was working with on the night. Dennis asked Tom, tell me, what's the drill when we lock up priests? Tom replied somewhat chillingly, quote, we don't lock them up, we let them go. Once you've been around for a while you'll start to learn the Catholic Church carries a good deal more clout than the local church on the corner.

It's a political organisation, it has wrapped itself around every layer of government. This happens everywhere, all across Australia and probably all over the world. But nowhere does the Catholic Church have more power than it does the Victorian police force. Short of a murder blue he'll walk every time, nothing would happen today. This goes all the way to the top. It's not just the police, it's the judges, lawyers, the politicians. They don't agree with it, but there are forces at work here that are stronger than you and me. I'll learn early on in the job, don't pick fights, you can't win.

Keep in mind, this is the 1950s. Religion had a far greater influence on society than it does today. The police force was no different. The Victorian police force even had unofficial divisions based on your faith. There were strong Catholic sections of the force, but also Protestants and Freemasons had a strong representation at the time as well. Your religion or beliefs or membership of certain groups could dictate what sections you could work in. There were some squads that were Catholic only, some squads were for Freemasons only, and so on. You would naturally gravitate towards those sections and officers who shared your beliefs.

Of course, this wasn't exclusive to the Victorian police force, this was just society at the time, it was happening everywhere, all across the country. Not everybody was religious or a Freemason. There was still a healthy percentage of atheists and people who held other beliefs outside of mainstream religions. But those mainstream religions had a far stronger hold on people at the time. After his encounter with Father Day on the streets of St Kilda, Dennis Ryan passed the detective exam. Dennis worked in the detective's office in the Russell Street headquarters and at Frankstem before transferring to Mordiolok in 1958, about a 45-minute drive away from Melbourne. Dennis was a hard worker and a good detective. It was well known he was a devout Catholic, and it was because of his strong Catholic beliefs he was made the following offer.

Dennis was out enjoying beers with his fellow detectives one afternoon when Detective Sergeant Fred Russell pulled him aside. Fred said to Dennis, quote, What I'm about to tell you is in the strictest confidence. I don't know if you know this, but there is a group of us who, at the request of the Cathedral, look into instances where priests have been charged with offences to see if we can have these matters dropped or dismissed. So the church's good name will not be brought into disrepute. We know your strong belief. We'd like to invite you to join us. A group of police keeping a lookout for and protecting priests. The Catholic Mafia.

Dennis immediately thought back to the incident with Father Day and assumed those were the sorts of things Fred was talking about. Minor matters. Drink driving and other traffic related stuff. Being caught with sex workers. That sort of thing. Nothing major, but still the sort of behaviour that could bring embarrassment to the church. Dennis was never comfortable with letting Day off so easily, and he wasn't about to join a group that looked out for other priests who found themselves in trouble. Dennis said no. He wasn't interested in joining the Catholic Mafia. Russell never mentioned the names of anyone else involved, and Dennis didn't think too much more of it. In 1962, Dennis' son Michael had a severe asthma attack, causing him to stop breathing and to go blue in the face. A doctor was called who had to give Michael a shot of adrenaline to bring him back.

Not a lot was known about asthma at the time, and the doctor said the main thing he could recommend would be to move Michael into a drier, warmer climate. Dennis initially considered moving to Queensland. However, when his superiors learnt what was going on, they told him not to go. They wanted him to remain with the Victorian police. He was offered a detective position at Mildura. Mildura was right on the border of New South Wales in northwest Victoria. It was about as far as you could go without leaving the state, 540 kilometres, or 335 miles, away from Melbourne. And it would provide the dry, warm climate that Michael required for his asthma. It was a country posting, a regional city with a population of about 27,000 people at the time. Dennis accepted the position and moved his family to northwest country Victoria.

On his first day at Mildura, Dennis met with the officer in charge of the detective's office, Detective Sergeant Jim Barrett. Jim was eager to give Dennis the guided tour of the town. Their first stop? A meet and greet with a local parish priest. Dennis thought this was a bit unusual for a police tour of the town, but being a devout Catholic, he wanted to check out the church and meet the priest anyway. Imagine his surprise when he was introduced to Father John Day. Dennis recognised him instantly from the St Kilda incident six years earlier. Day had been transferred from the Apollo Bay parish to the Mildura parish the year after that incident in 1957. The meeting was friendly enough and Dennis didn't mention anything to Day.

Day didn't seem to recognise Dennis either, which was no surprise given how drunk he was when they met previously. As they were driving away from the meeting, Dennis said to Jim that Day had some unusual habits for a priest. He then filled him in about the incident from six years earlier. Jim Barrett didn't have the reaction Dennis was expecting. He snapped, yelling. You don't know what you're talking about. Get your facts right before you open your gob. Dennis didn't back down. He had his facts right. He had seen it with his own eyes. After a bit of back and forth, the guided tour came to an early end. Jim drove Dennis back to the station in silence.

There was a bit more back and forth between them in the office for the rest of the day. Clearly Detective Sergeant Jim Barrett was a staunch defender of the local priest. The next day, Dennis received a phone call from Father Day, who requested that he pay him a visit. Dennis agreed and drove over to meet with him. Day was angry. He yelled, you need to get your facts straight. You don't know what you're talking about. That wasn't me. There was another priest named John Day. He was also at Apollo Bay. I've never been to the place. After a bit of back and forth between them, Day said, get out of my sight. Don't you spread Melissa's rumors about me. Get out. Dennis returned to the station and was met by another barrage of abuse from Jim Barrett.

It was an interesting start to his time at Mildura. Dennis learned very early that Barrett and Day were more than just friends. The way Jim had reacted and immediately jumped to the defensive day, there seemed to be something else going on. But he wasn't quite sure what. Dennis Rowan kept up his regular visits to the church with his family. He sat back almost in amusement as he listened to Father Day talk about the church's strong position on virginity, celibacy and morality. He would drone on about the degrading and unchristian practice of girls wearing bikinis and the declining moral standards of society with girls getting around in miniskirts. All Dennis could see was a two-faced hypocrite, if only his fellow churchgoers knew about that incident in St Kilda. The deep bond shared by Father Day and Detective Sergeant Jim Barrett only became clearer to Dennis as the years went on. Dennis formed the view that Barrett was a right-hand man today. The two of them also shared a close relationship with another man, Joe Kearney. Kearney was the clerk of a local court in Mildura. No big deal in a major city like Melbourne, but in a small country town like Mildura, he had much more authority.

There was no permanent judge in town. The judge worked a large district, what was called a circuit, which covered a large area and a lot of different towns. The judge would travel around and sit at the different courts as it was required. When there was no judge in town, which was most of the time, Joe Kearney was the most senior official of the court. Day, Barrett and Kearney were extremely close, regularly meeting up to have dinner, always having meetings together. As well as his role of clerk of the court, Kearney was also treasurer of the Mildura Catholic Parish Funds, meaning he was in charge of funds paid by the government for the admin and maintenance of Catholic schools in the parish. In Mildura, the Catholic schools were Sacred Heart Primary and St. Joseph's High. So Kearney was in charge of a lot of money that had to cover teachers' salaries, building maintenance, curriculum expenses, and everything else required to run a school. Barrett was in charge of the collection plate on behalf of Father Day. He used to lock standing over the parishioners, demanding more money. Day needed it. The church needed it. Give more. Dennis couldn't work out why Day was constantly crying poor and demanding more money from his people. He always drove a new, expensive looking car. He had a taste for fine wines and flush clothes. The church was always immaculately decorated. He didn't seem to be doing too badly.

It was all very suspicious to Dennis, but he just stayed out of it. He didn't want anything to do with Day, Barrett or Kearney. He wasn't going to let them affect his faith. Dennis never raided Barrett as a detective. All he liked to do was pick on kids and arrest drunks. Serious crime was out of his depth. Dennis was especially disgusted when he learnt that Father Day would let Barrett know about the secrets shared to him in the confessional box. School kids would come in and confess to mischief they got up to, maybe stealing a candy bar from the local store or breaking into the canteen and stealing soft drinks. Next thing the kids knew, Jim Barrett was knocking on their door and dragging them into the police station for an interview. Day completely breached the kids' trust. It disgusted Dennis and he hated Barrett, hated his aggressive controlling behaviour and his deep connection to Day. He sensed something wasn't right and he decided to start digging. Barrett was very secretive of the contents of his drawer. He had his own office which he would often keep locked, but if his office was unlocked then one thing was for sure, the top drawer of his desk would be. Barrett kept the key lock his life depended on it. Dennis and another detective often wondered what Barrett was keeping in there.

One day they found out. They were able to break into the drawer by getting a second key cut using a unique code found on the lock. As they opened it, they were met by some insignificant paperwork. But it was underneath that where they found five black and white photographs. The photos were of girls aged about eight to ten years old, all standing naked with glum expressions on their faces. Dennis initially thought that these might be evidence from a case, but the more he thought about it, the more that didn't make sense. If the photos were evidence, they would have been entered into the evidence book and stored in the property room. They quickly put the photos back and locked the drawer. Dennis knew Jim Barrett was odd and was very close to Father Day, but what was he doing with these photos? He kept the information close. He couldn't do anything about it for now. He had illegally broken into Barrett's drawer. Not only that, Barrett could easily make up some bullshit about them being linked to a case, even if they weren't. Barrett could have backdated an entry in the evidence book and say they weren't stored in the property room due to their sensitive nature. All it would achieve would be to get Dennis into some serious trouble.

Dennis decided to wait and dig a little further. He knew something else about Barrett. He always took carriage of sex offence cases involving young girls. All the uniform officers and fellow detectives knew that any case such as that went straight to Barrett. He always interviewed the girls alone with his office door locked. Still, it wasn't enough to prove anything. Dennis may have had a clearer picture if he had been made aware of the complaint made to Sergeant Michael O'Donnell. O'Donnell was a patrol officer who had transferred to Mildura not long after Dennis. O'Donnell received a complaint from a parent one afternoon. A young boy, still at Sacred Heart Primary School, had come home and told his dad that Father Day had pinned him down and fondled his penis. O'Donnell took the complaint straight to the detectives. Dennis wasn't in his office, so he didn't hear about it. Another detective told O'Donnell that this wasn't the first complaint that had been made about Day, but they couldn't do anything with it. All complaints involving Day had to go to Detective Sergeant Jim Barrett. No exceptions. O'Donnell didn't see a problem with that, and made sense Barrett was the head detective, and this was a serious complaint. O'Donnell forwarded the information onto Barrett for follow up.

A week or so later, O'Donnell hadn't heard anything from Barrett about what was happening, and Barrett wasn't the most friendly or approachable person, so O'Donnell decided to pay the boy and his dad a visit to see what was happening. O'Donnell was told by the boy's dad that there was nothing happening. Jim Barrett had paid them a visit and talked them into withdrawing the complaint. Barrett described the scandal and shame that would come to their family if they went ahead with it. The boy had made a serious allegation against a good man and a fine priest, and to the Catholic Church would not take such a complaint lying down. The dad explained to O'Donnell that he felt he had no choice but to withdraw, as Barrett didn't believe them. This wasn't the first visit Jim Barrett had made to a parent of a child who had made a complaint about Father Day, and the result of these visits always went the same way. Complaint withdrawn. Dennis Ryan wasn't made aware of this particular incident until many, many years later. Dennis was able to connect a little more information when the circuit judge in the area paid him a visit one day. The judge was Joe Hayes. Dennis had gotten to know him well over the years from different cases he had taken to Mildura Court.

Dennis's years pricked up when Judge Hayes came to his house for dinner one night and said this, quote, I'm rather concerned about Jim and the way he takes statements from young girls on carnal knowledge and other sex offenses. The statements are unnecessarily explicit. Dennis told Judge Hayes about Barrett's instructions that he be given all cases of that nature. He also told him about the photos he had found in his drawer. Judge Hayes wasn't surprised, and he told Dennis to keep a close eye on his superior. Meanwhile, Jim Barrett continued harassing drunks and kids. He even arrested the president of the Organizing Committee for the local kindergarten for holding a fundraising raffle without a license. Dennis could only shake his head. It was common knowledge around Mildura that Father Day often took children away on weekend trips. He liked driving kids down to Melbourne on what was a long road trip. He would take kids to see musicals or the cricket or rosy rules football matches.

The community was full of praise for the priest. What a man to devote so much time to the children. Father Day also taught at the Sacred Heart Primary School. He was in charge of physical education. Day also was the one who chose the altar boys for the church. He would pick eight to ten boys a year. The altar boys would lay out prayer books, light candles, and generally help prepare for mass and holy communion. Day also put them to work doing other jobs around the church grounds and his residence, like washing his car. The altar boys would be alone at the church under day's care for hours and hours at a time. He was a pillar of the community with a great reputation. No one was trusted and respected more than Father Day. On a Wednesday morning in 1971, Dennis received a phone call from John Howden, the head teacher at St. Joseph's High School.

John was a well-respected teacher with an excellent reputation. John requested Dennis go and see him at the school. There was an important matter that he wanted to discuss with him. Before hanging up, John was very clear with Dennis. Do not let Jim Barrett know he had called. When Dennis arrived at the school, John came straight out with it. The mother of one of our students has made a complaint that Father Day has indecently assaulted her daughter on a number of occasions. He went on to say that he feared if Jim Barrett became aware of the complaint, then it would go nowhere due to his close association with Day. Dennis immediately arranged to meet with the girl and her mother and take statements. The girl was only 12 years old and had been assaulted on five separate occasions by Father Day.

After he had finished taking a statement, the girl provided Dennis with the name of another girl who she knew Day had forced himself upon. Dennis visited with this girl as well. She also agreed to provide a statement. Her assault happened in the car in the presence of two nuns and three other students. Day was taking them away on a trip to Melbourne to see a musical. He made the girl sit next to him in the car and placed her head in his lap. Both girls were students of Sacred Heart Primary School. These statements were a start, but they wouldn't be enough. Dennis needed more evidence against Day, so he started digging, and it didn't take much digging to uncover the names of more victims. Dennis met with a man named Kim, who was now in his 20s, married with kids of his own.

Kim's name had been provided to Dennis discreetly by a friend when the friend learnt that Dennis was looking into Day. Kim gave a statement to Dennis about his time at Sacred Heart Primary School. He had been an altar boy for Day. Day had only just arrived at the parish. Kim was 11 years old when he was attacked. The first attack also occurred in a car. Day was driving with his penis exposed, and he made Kim touch it. Later that night, Day and Kim stayed in the same bed. Kim was woken up in the middle of the night by Day trying to have sex with him. Kim was being cared for by two aunties at the time. Both were fanatical churchgoers and worshipped Day. After the first attack, Kim said he wasn't going away with Day anymore, but his aunties were having none of it.

They gave Day permission to take him away a total of five times. Numerous sexual and indecent assaults were committed on Kim during those trips. He gave Dennis a signed statement. Dennis expressed to Kim that this had to be kept very quiet. If Detective Sergeant Jim Barrett found out about this investigation, Dennis would be shut down. That wasn't all the information Kim had. He had the name of another rumoured victim of Day's. And that's essentially how the investigation continued. A secret investigation that had to be hidden from Barrett and hidden from other police in case they gave Barrett their tip off. Dennis would speak to a victim, they would give him a statement, and then they would give him the name of another victim. And on it went. Dennis struggled to comprehend the enormity of it. At the time of the attacks, the youngest victim was eight, the oldest was fifteen. All had been students at Sacred Heart Primary School and St. Joseph's High School.

The attacks occurred between 1957, the year Day arrived at Mildura, and 1970. Dennis never liked Day, but getting drunk and liaising with consenting sex workers while preaching about chastity and morality was one thing. But this, this was something else. It made Dennis sick to the core. He felt like violently attacking Day, but knew that would achieve nothing. He had to play this smart. Dennis then started to wonder, how much did his supervisor Detective Jim Barrett know about all of this? How much did the clerk of the court, Joe Kearney know? The three had an incredibly tight bond. To disexplain the pictures Dennis had found in Barrett's drawer. Dennis had been looking into Day for a month when he decided it was time to approach the most senior officer in the district, Superintendent Jack McPartland.

McPartland was another devout Catholic, but he wasn't stationed at Mildura. He was at Swan Hill, over 200km or 124 miles away. He was in charge of the entire district that a lot of different police stations fell under, covering a wide area. Dennis felt confident the superintendent was far enough away that he wouldn't be influenced by Day or Barrett. Dennis rung McPartland and laid out the investigation. He had five victim statements detailing sexual and indecent assaults committed by Father Day covering a 13 year period. He was surprised when Superintendent McPartland told him to hand over all the statements he had taken to Inspector Irwin immediately. He also ordered Dennis to cease his investigation. Inspector Irwin was the officer in charge of Mildura police station at the time, also a devout Catholic and a very close friend of Detective Sergeant Barrett. So Barrett was in charge of the detective's office, but Irwin was the boss of the station and the one Barrett had to answer to.

Dennis wasn't happy with that. He told McPartland, quote, What you're asking me to do will effectively destroy this investigation. McPartland replied, I'm going to tell you something now, Detective Ryan, and you're not going to like it. I'm a superintendent and you're a nobody. Do as you're fucking told. McPartland slammed the phone down. Dennis's mind drifted back to the night he was pulled aside by Sergeant Fred Russell and asked if he wanted to join an exclusive group of Catholic police officers who looked out for the church, the Catholic mafia. At the time, Dennis thought it was minor offences they could make go away, drink driving, liaising with sex workers. Surely they weren't involved in covering up crimes against children.

Or were they? Did the Catholic mafia's reach extend all the way up to Mildura? Were they protecting a pedophile priest? Dennis did as he was told. He handed the five statements to Inspector Irwin. Irwin didn't say a word to Dennis. He took the statements and then went straight back to his paperwork. It was pretty obvious to Dennis those statements were headed straight for the bin. Dennis had followed orders to stay out of trouble, but he wasn't going to drop it that easily. He vowed to keep looking into Father Day. He kept poking around and asking questions, trying to find more victims. In November 1971, Inspector Irwin told Dennis some good news. Irwin was actually going to act on the statements Dennis had taken.

He was going to interview Father Day. Great thought Dennis. Irwin hadn't just thrown the statements in the bin. Maybe they could get somewhere with this investigation after all. But then Irwin said he was taking Detective Sergeant Jim Barrett along with him for the interview. Dennis exploded. You must be fucking joking. They are best friends. You can't take him in on the interview. It is a clear conflict of interest and will compromise the investigation. Dennis' protests fell on deaf ears. He was told to shut up and stay out of it. Dennis suspects Barrett supplied Day a copy of all the questions that were going to be asked of him to give him time to prepare. During the interview Day came up with all the right answers. He denied the allegations. And that was that. It was going nowhere.

Dennis though continued his investigation. He wasn't going to sit back and let a pedophile get away that easily. He found another two victims. Both were young boys at St. Joseph's High School when Day indecently assaulted them. They both provided statements after Day had been interviewed. When Dennis handed the two new statements to Irwin, he just grunted and snatched them out of his hand. Being a small country town, it didn't take long for people to start talking. The news spread like wildfire. In December 1971, a few weeks after Day had been interviewed by Irwin and Barrett, Dennis was approached by one of Day's fellow priests outside of the police station. The priest had this to say. Drop the inquiring into Day or you'll be out of a job. Dennis couldn't believe it. Threatened by a priest. He told him to get fucked.

What would make a priest think that the Catholic Church had any say over the hiring and firing of the Victorian police, wondered Dennis. Hey friends, it's Jill and Kaelin from Teach Me How To Add Out podcast with a little PSA for you. Identity theft can happen to anyone and that's why we teamed up with Telus Online Security powered by Norton. Simple everyday things like connecting to public Wi-Fi, shopping online, or clicking on links and texts and emails can put our personal information at risk. But with Telus Online Security, you get useful alerts to help protect your identity and 24-7 live experts support so you're not in this alone. Plans start from just $10 per month. You can learn more and check out their plans at telus.com. No one can prevent all cybercrime or prevent all identity theft. The town became divided. Half of them supported Dennis and wanted to see the investigation conducted properly.

The other half would have been happy to burn Dennis alive for casting suspicion on their beloved priest. Dennis couldn't walk down the street without somebody saying something, either abuse and threats or support and sympathy, depending on who he came across. After Day's interview, Inspector Irwin compiled a report to Superintendent McPartland, recommending no further police action be taken in the investigation. McPartland added his own comments to the report agreeing with Irwin. Effectively, the comments said that the statements were made years after the attacks and that there was no corroborating evidence. The report would then be forwarded on to the police commissioner and to the crown prosecutors for final determination. Dennis, though, continued to take statements from the victims of Day. He took another one from a young boy outlining indecent and sexual assault. That now made a total of eight victims who had provided statements to Dennis. Three of those eight victims were still current students at St. Joseph's High School.

And three of those statements had been made after Day's police interview, so that was new evidence that had to be considered. Dennis Ryan paid another visit to John Howden, head teacher at St. Joseph's. He told him about the other victims of Day he had found, but that he had been ordered off the case by Irwin and Barrett. Effectively ending the investigation. They decided to try something different and take the information they had to Day Superior, Bishop Malkerns. Malkerns was in charge of the Ballarat District, made up of about 50 parishes. They assumed he would treat these allegations in the right way. They drafted a detailed letter to him outlining all of the information they had.

They requested he take action and remove Day immediately. They didn't quite get the response they were looking for. Bishop Malkerns defended Day, saying that Inspector Irwin and Detective Sergeant Barrett had already cleared him of these allegations. The Bishop conveniently ignored the three further allegations that came out after Day's interview. He said it was time for Dennis to change his ways and demonstrate loyalty to Day. Day had been subjected to a great deal of embarrassment that he didn't deserve. It was tarnishing his excellent reputation. The Bishop obviously wasn't interested in the abuse of children committed by one of his priests, so Dennis continued taking statements.

Before Christmas in 1971, he had taken a further three signed statements from victims of Day. At the time of the attacks, they were students at Sacred Heart Primary School, aged between 11 and 13. That brought the total number of victims who had provided statements to 11. After a few years of living in Mildura, Dennis had moved his family outside of the town onto a property. That meant he no longer went to church at Mildura, as Redcliffs was closer to him. That suited him just fine, as in the six years he had been attending church at Redcliffs, he hadn't seen Father Day there once. But after Dennis started his investigation, Day did turn up to the church there one day. Dennis' son was actually an altar boy at the time.

He was shocked when the priests and the altar boys started their procession into the church, and he saw that it was Day standing behind his son. Dennis stood up and told his son to get changed out of his altar boy uniform, because they were leaving. He then stared at Day and yelled. He dirty bastard, you think I'm going to let you anywhere near my children. Day didn't say anything and carried on, trying to ignore him, but he looked rattled. The other attendees at the church were shocked at what they had just witnessed. Despite Dennis taking a further six statements after Day's interview, the investigation was going nowhere. It was being stalled by Irwin and Barrett with the help of Superintendent McPartland.

Dennis had nowhere to turn. He decided to try his luck by ringing one of his old friends from his days working in Melbourne, Frank Holland, who is now a superintendent himself. Dennis told him about the investigation he was conducting in today and how it had been stalled. Holland told him he already knew all about it and not to worry because help was on the way. Dennis couldn't believe it. Maybe now he could get somewhere with Day. This is just what they needed, a senior officer from outside the region to come in and take charge. The man that was sent was Superintendent John O'Connor, chief investigator for the commissioner.

You couldn't get much higher. But when Dennis found out it was O'Connor who was coming up, he was alarmed. O'Connor was a devout Catholic. O'Connor arrived on the 15th of January, 1972. Dennis already had a bad feeling and he didn't feel any better when O'Connor said this to him. Quote, What I intend to do is have Barrett moved on and you will be made Detective Sergeant here. Dennis knew he didn't have the experience to step straight into a Detective Sergeant role.

He also knew that he would first have to go back to Melbourne and spend time as a Sergeant in uniform. But O'Connor told him not to worry. He could make it happen. Where there's a will, there's a way. Dennis said with all due respect that it wasn't his intention to take Barrett's spot. He just wanted some help with the investigation into day and his abusive children. O'Connor told him not to worry about it. We can smooth all that over.

Barrett's gone. You'll be my man here now. But you'll have to play ball. Dennis again refused. No, I don't want Jim's job, sir. I want Day thoroughly investigated. He's an absolute disgrace to the priesthood and he should be unfrocked. O'Connor just stared at him, turned his back and walked off.

Dennis knew he was in even bigger trouble now. A superintendent had offered him what was essentially a bribe. He looks the other way with Day and leaves it to O'Connor to smooth over. And as a reward, he gets promoted into the position of Barrett. Barrett gets moved on elsewhere. Everybody's happy. But Dennis refused. Now what?

O'Connor ignored Dennis from that point on. Dennis tried to speak to him a number of times to find out what was happening. He requested to be let back on to the investigation. He believed that if he was given the support from his superiors, then he had the trust from the local community to be able to get a whole lot more statements against Day. O'Connor wasn't having any of it. He warned Dennis he would be subject to disciplinary action if he didn't stay off the case like he had been ordered. Just to prove a point, Dennis took a twelfth statement.

The boy was eleven when he was sexually assaulted by Day. A few weeks after arriving in Miljura to clean up the mess, O'Connor met with Bishop Malkerns. He gave him an ultimatum. Move Day on from Miljura or he would go to jail. Not only was the good reputation of the Catholic Church at stake, but so was the reputation of the Victorian police force. Imagine if it got out that certain members of the police were protecting a pedophile priest. The whispers had gotten too loud.

Twelfth statements was too many to ignore. It would be best for all concerned if the bishop moved Day on, so the matter could be wrapped up nice and quietly. Malkerns again tried to defend Day, saying no. O'Connor and Barrett had cleaned him. But O'Connor presented the seven other statements Dennis had obtained since Day was questioned. That shut Malkerns up. Two days later, Day announced during a church service that he had offered his resignation from the parish,

which Bishop Malkerns had accepted. As a result, he would be leaving Miljura. The community was still divided. The staunch Catholic supporters believed Day was the victim of a witch hunt and had been unfairly treated. Others were happy to see him go. So that was it. Day had to leave Miljura. He wasn't arrested.

He never had to face court. His victims never got justice. Instead what happened? The church paid in all expenses overseas trip to Day for counselling and spiritual healing. Barrett found himself in trouble too. Not only was he protecting Day, but he was also acting as a standover man for him. He went under investigation for extorting money from two men he had arrested. Barrett told the men the charges would go away if they donated an appropriate amount of money into Father Day's building fund.

The building fund was for Day to build himself a brand new church and residence. It was well known around town by some of the criminal element that Barrett could help you beat a charge for a suitable donation to Father Day. Not only that, Barrett stood over the illegal bookmakers in town on behalf of Day. What he would do is approach a bookie and say, Father Day will have ten dollars on the winner of the last race. The bookie knew exactly what that meant and it had nothing to do with gambling. Whichever horse won the last race, Day would win whatever it paid times ten. It was the cost of doing business for the illegal bookmakers in Miljura.

Not only was Day a pedophile, he was running an extortion racket with the help of a detective sergeant. And that wasn't the only racket they had going on. There was the fraud arranged by Joe Kearney, the local court clerk, who was also a part of this tight-knit group. He was the treasurer of the church's funds and in charge of the money given by the government to run the two Catholic schools. Well Joe had set up a nice little scam with that money. He created a teacher's position that didn't exist and he hired a teacher that didn't exist to fill that position. The government paid that teacher's salary, which actually went straight into the pocket of Kearney, who then passed it on to Father Day. On top of the scams was the constant badgering of the parishioners to donate money to the church.

Day was relentless with those requests and Barrett was there holding the bag for him, making sure it was full. O'Connor had gotten rid of Day nice and quietly, but now he had to get rid of Barrett. He couldn't risk keeping him around Miljura after what happened. He was transferred to another station hundreds of kilometres away, out of sight, out of mind. The third member of their group, Joe Kearney, had to go as well. An audit had just been conducted on the local court accounts. There was money missing everywhere. Kearney wasn't just scamming the school funds, but he knew too much about Day and Barrett. He was told if he left town and kept his mouth shut, he would be spared jail.

He didn't have to be asked twice. Kearney was also suspected of raping a woman in the courthouse, but she was too frightened to provide a statement against him, so he was never charged. Dennis Ryan was still a loose end as well. O'Connor sat him down and told him he was going to be charged for failing to complete the outcome of an arrest in his diary. This wasn't a criminal charge, it was internal disciplinary action. They couldn't get anything serious on Dennis, so they found this. A trivial matter, which most of the detectives in the state probably could have been charged with if they looked close enough. They were clutching at straws, basically. Dennis didn't play ball, so this was his reward.

O'Connor forwarded a final report to the commissioner. In it he said that the evidence was insufficient to prosecute Father Day. The priest was officially in the clear. The investigation was stopped at some of the highest levels of the Victorian police. Nothing came of the investigation into Barrett extorting money. He kept his rank and position within the Victorian police. He remained a detective sergeant for another eight years before retiring. He died in 1997. If Dennis Ryan was allowed to stay in Mildura, he would have kept taking statements and investigating Day.

That's what he planned to do, and his superiors knew it. They wouldn't allow it. His transfer order came through almost immediately. Dennis was told that he could apply for any station in the state of Victoria that was available. But if he wasn't successful finding anywhere by the 15th of May 1972, then he had the report to Russell Street back in Melbourne. His reward for investigating a pedophile priest and trying to get justice for the victims was a forced transfer. Dennis went off on sick leave and then offered his resignation. He felt that if he left Mildura, then the cover up would be complete. But if he stayed in Mildura, then his voice could still be heard.

He could keep the trust of the victims. Although he would no longer be a police officer and couldn't conduct the investigation, he felt it was the right thing to do. The Crown Prosecutors completed a review of the case and confirmed the decisions of the senior police. They said in their report, There is insufficient evidence to prosecute Day. We trust the authorities in the church will realise that the decision not to prosecute does not arise from any conviction that the allegations are unfounded. Having regard to the similarities of the various accounts, there would appear to be little doubt that Day misconducted himself. When Day returned from his all expenses paid overseas counselling trip,

Bishop Mulcaurn sent him to a tiny parish called Timboun in country Victoria. He was not prevented from being in contact with children and the people of the town had no idea about days past. He stayed in the town until his death in 1978. He was 74 years old. He had been a priest for 48 years. At Day's funeral, Bishop Mulcaurn's talked about his great work and his humble magnificence. Quote, Lord hear the prayers we offer for John Day, your servant and priest.

He faithfully fulfilled his ministry in your name. May he rejoice forever in the fellowship of the saints. Many of Day's victims descended into alcoholism, drug abuse and some committed suicide. Dennis remained in Mildurough. His wife left him a few years after he left the police force. He didn't stay quiet about Day or the cover up by the church and members of the police force. But his pleas were ignored for many, many years. The official file said that Dennis had resigned from the police due to a personal conflict with Jim Barrett

and that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Day. That was it. As the years went on and senior officers turned over, when any of them looked at the file, that's what they saw. Things are obviously a lot different today. In 1972, no priest had ever stood before a judge charged with a child's ex offense. It was unheard of then. Priests could do no wrong. They held positions of trust in the community and were held in high regard.

Spiritual guardians. Today, it's not unheard of for a priest to be charged with a child's ex offense. It's acknowledged now that there was a serious problem with some priests and a lot of crimes have been covered up over the years. The Catholic Church set up a compensation fund in Australia called Towards Healing. Giving money to victims of abuse. But to get the money, the victims have to sign a non-disclosure agreement. In 2006, Dennis Ryan was told that over 100 people had come forward to claim compensation

as a direct result of sexual and indecent assaults committed by Father Day. And they weren't just from Yildur. Day had committed his horrific acts at his other parishes as well. They were also covered up. When the rumors got too loud and complaints started to be made against him, the bishop simply moved him on to another parish. Day was given a fresh start in a new town to ruin the lives of more victims. The Catholic mafia element of the Victorian police force that existed between the 1950s and 1970s is long gone.

Religion itself is nowhere near as prominent in society and in turn the police force as it was back then. Times have changed. In 2012, Dennis Ryan published a book called Unholy Trinity, which gives his account of this story. That book was read at some of the highest levels of the Victorian government and police force. It was also used in the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse. This Royal Commission is still taking place today, covering different reports of abuse from all over the country. A lot of different cases and offenders and responses to those cases are still being looked at. One case the Royal Commission dealt with was that of Father Day.

In 2015, the Royal Commission heard about the sexual and indecent assaults committed by Father Day and the cover-up of Dennis Ryan's work by other officers. Former Victorian police commissioner Mick Miller had this to say to the commission, Without doubt, there was misconduct by senior Victorian police officers, including dereliction of duty, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, and inciting other members of the police force to join the conspiracy against Dennis Ryan in order to conceal crimes committed by day. Dennis himself gave evidence at the commission. His story was finally taken as fact. No longer was he being ignored. It was accepted there was a cover-up of Day's crimes by some bishops and by some police officers.

It was accepted that a group of police existed that put a halt to any investigation into a priest. The group was known as the Catholic Mafia. A lot of the members would remain unknown, but they certainly wielded their influence in Mildura in the early 70s. The room erupted in applause when Dennis stepped down from the witness box after giving his evidence. It was only last month, August 2016, that Dennis got his final vindication. Current Victorian police commissioner Graham Ashton invited Dennis to a morning tea. Ashton himself had once told a state parliamentary inquiry, quote, The processes of the Catholic Church are designed to put the reputation of the church first and the victims second.

Commissioner Ashton made an official apology to Dennis on behalf of the Victorian police. He said, Dennis, you were right, and your commitment has been outstanding. Dennis accepted the apology and read from a prepared statement saying, quote, In my day as a detective, I became aware and indeed had my career roughly ended by some of the most senior members of the force who had a distorted sense of loyalty to other institutions. That failure led to what I have described as an epidemic of clerical child sex abuse in Victoria. That the Catholic Church covered up and engaged in criminal conspiracies brings great shame on that institution. But the failures of policing in pursuit of that distorted sense of loyalty led one victim to become two, to become ten, and awfully and finally for the number of victims to become too large to count. My own circumstances have been distinctly grim since I left the force, but as dark as some of those days have been, they have no parallel with those forced to endure the pain and suffering of sexual abuse.

What makes it worse and haunts my dreams to this day is that if we as police did what we were supposed to do, what we were charged to do, what we took an oath to do, so much of that pain and suffering would not exist today. .