'Jennifer' and her family knew George Pell. But when she came forward as a teenager to accuse a priest of rape, it was as if he didn't know them.
“He asked me why I hated him. I said, ‘It’s not you I hate. It’s all men. Because this is what happened'.”
The man at the apex of the system that failed her has now been convicted of abuse himself, and yet Jennifer found herself reading a newspaper article last month that suggested Pell's conviction made him a scapegoat for society's frustrations. She remembered nothing about the priest other than that he spoke with a thick Italian accent. The police investigated thoroughly. Jennifer said they were "fantastic". They believed her but, in the end, there was not enough evidence for a conviction.
In late 1997, Jennifer met the independent commissioner the Church had appointed, Peter O'Callaghan, QC, who ended up serving in the role for 20 years. She also met with the compensation panel and with Carelink, which was co-ordinating health servicesThe process happened in fits and starts. Jennifer said she and her parents "had to instigate everything", though she also put things on hold herself for just under two years when she went to live overseas.
Mr O'Callaghan told the royal commission he had been "independent in all respects", making decisions "without fear or favour and without any influence from other persons".
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