A Tasmanian mother has spoken of her anguish when she first read about the allegations of child sexual abuse made against Launceston paediatric nurse James Geoffrey Griffin.
Kim* gave evidence during the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government's Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings in Hobart on Monday.
She said her then teenage daughter Paula* had been admitted to the Launceston General Hospital in the early 2000s for treatment of an eating disorder.
Kim said she had met Griffin several times before and was reassured to see a familiar face when Paula was admitted.
"Jim [James Griffin] was always a very friendly, outgoing, caring person and he just had that way about him that made you feel that you could trust him and that he was going to look after your child," she said.
For years, Griffin worked as a registered nurse at the Paediatric Centre at the Launceston General Hospital (LGH), on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry and at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre.
He also worked as a massage therapist for children's sporting teams.
In September 2019, Griffin, aged 69, was charged with a number of criminal offences involving the repeated sexual abuse of a child.
By October that year, four more women had made similar complaints to police. There were allegations of abuse from the late 1980s through to 2012.
Griffin died by suicide on October 19, 2019, and the coroner noted he had "made admissions" to police, and forensic searches of his home "located a significant amount of child exploitation material".
An internal Tasmanian police review found the first allegation against Griffin was made in 2009.
'All these thoughts raced through my head'
Kim will never know if her daughter was abused by Griffin. Paula died in her early 20s.
Kim read about the allegations against Griffin in the newspaper.
"Maybe this contributed to all of the issues that she had throughout her life.
"It's just something that's always going to be with me and I'll always wonder. And I can't speak to Paula about it and nothing will really be resolved for me."
Kim told the commission that Paula initially spent two months at the LGH.
When she was not in hospital, she had regular contact with Griffin, who invited her to barbecues and sleepovers at his home. Sometimes he also invited other members of Paula's family.
"You do have trust in medical people because they're there to look after you and attend to you in a time of crisis … for me now to have to go to the hospital, it's the last thing that I want to do."
Paula's teacher took her from school and kissed her
Kim told the commission Paula was a happy child who adapted well to high school. She said Paula was very kind and smart.
"Paula was a very special girl and I miss her presence every day," Kim said.
While in high school, Paula started to have body image issues, and developed an eating disorder.
The commission heard that in grade 9, Paula also developed a "friendship" with one of her teachers, a man in his 30s, which continued until the September of that year.
Kim said the teacher had picked Paula up from work one day and taken her to a secluded place outside Launceston where he put his arm around her and kissed her on the lips.
She said the teacher tried to contact Paula by phone and when he was unable to, he sent a letter to the house.
"Some of the things he'd written in the letter saying that he professed his love for her and that if she didn't, when he made the advances to her that she should have run away or screamed … he was sort of putting it all back on to Paula that, yes, it was her fault and not his," Kim said.
It was a Sunday night and Kim said she had a phone number for another teacher at the school so she rang and spoke to her.
"She [the teacher] was shocked and very upset," Kim said.
Kim said the issue at the school was dealt with and it was her understanding the male teacher was suspended. She said she was satisfied with the response because it was quick and empathetic.
It was against this backdrop that Paula was admitted to hospital.
"I never made a complaint about Jim because I didn't know anything, I wasn't aware that all this was going on.
"I don't want this to happen to any other person and have their life changed forever, and I just don't want this to happen again to anyone else and the families, and it's just got such a big flow-on effect and it affects the rest of your life."
Inquiry to run six weeks of hearings
The commission of inquiry has six weeks of hearings scheduled for Hobart and Launceston over the next few months.
The Launceston General Hospital — and the Health Department more generally — the Education Department, Ashley Youth Detention Centre and out-of-home care are its focus areas.
Commission president Marcia Neave said in her opening remarks on Monday that the commission will hear "devastating stories of children being abused by adults in positions of power and trust" and of "abuse being ignored or downplayed by people in positions of authority".
Counsel assisting the commission, Elizabeth Bennett SC, said the commission would hear this week about the way in which hope is a key resilience factor for people who have been through the trauma of child sexual abuse.
"We will be looking to how this commission can direct its recommendations towards meaningful change that benefits Tasmania and its children," Ms Bennett said.
*Names have been changed.
