THE victims of one of Australia’s worst serial pedophiles will be feeling “robbed and shocked” by the sentence imposed on him, a national child abuse expert says.
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Adults Surviving Child Abuse director and former chairwoman Cathy Kezelman said the six known victims of serial pedophile Dennis John McKenna would be bitterly disappointed by his minimum four-year and four-month sentence handed down in the Perth District Court today.
“Some of them may well feel revictimised by the whole process because it just doesn’t appear that justice has been done,” Dr Kezelman said.
“I really question how that judgment can be made when you have someone who’s a serial offender and who was in a position of trust and repeatedly betrayed that trust.
“How can you make a judgment that that person is not a high risk to society?”
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Dr Kezelman said a Victorian study in 2008 found that children who had been sexually abused were 18 times more likely to commit suicide.
“When you’ve been abused in childhood, in your developmental years, it affects the development of the brain,” she said.
“It affects the way you feel about yourself, the way you relate to the world, and has major repercussions.
“It’s a life sentence.”
Dr Kezelman said with the right help and support, victims of child abuse could go on to live “healthy constructive lives, but it does take a lot of support”.
McKenna, 65, pleaded guilty in August to 10 offences against six boys at a youth boarding hostel in Katanning, including gross indecency between males and carnal knowledge against nature.
At the time, from 1976 to 1985, he was employed at St Andrew’s Hostel and the boys were under his care.
In the District Court today, Chief Judge Peter Martino sentenced McKenna to 6 years and 4 months imprisonment, backdated to July 18.
He will be eligible for parole 4 years and 4 months into the sentence.
McKenna has been jailed before for similar offences.
Outside court, victim Daryl Stephens, who has waived his legal right to anonymity, said he and his family had suffered for years because of the abuse he suffered at the hands of McKenna.
When asked if there were more victims he replied: “Oh for sure yeah, definitely, definitely.
“Since he has been out of jail there must be people out there …a leopard doesn’t changes its spots.
Echoing Dr Kezelman’s concerns, Mr Stephens said the sexual abuse had led to victims taking drastic action including self-harm, alcoholism, drugs and suicide.
“There have been seven suicides that we know of that related to this,” he said.
“There have been families splitting up, everything that you could think of has happened to us all – it has been bloody hard.
“I thought I was the only boy, but as the years went on there were more and more. I didn’t realise we could do anything about it until this Redress thing came out.”
Perth lawyer John Hammond is representing a group of the victims.
“Next week we propose to lodge with the State Government applications for ex-gratia payment,” he said.
“A lot of the victims today received Redress payments but we say they deserve a lot more for having their lives wrecked.”
