Sex abuse survivor Anthea Parsons says she was ready for war after being cross-examined before the court.
Her former high school music teacher, Gregory Oates, was facing a committal hearing for allegedly sexually abusing her when she was a student at St Columba's College in Essendon in the 1980s.
He had already been committed to stand trial for abusing another St Columba's student, Clare Goss, and a third minor.
"I felt really positive because they [his lawyers] couldn't get me," Ms Parsons said.
"They tried really hard to fault me and there was nothing to fault.
"I was ready for battle after that."
But almost two years later, after watching their abuser plead guilty to reduced charges and receive a non-custodial sentence, Ms Parsons and Ms Goss say their experiences at the hands of Victoria's Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP) has left them feeling "abandoned" and "ignored".
They're not the only people who feel they were left in the dark about crucial legal decisions made by prosecutors as they sought justice for crimes that up-ended their lives.
The OPP has responded to the claims, saying it takes its obligations to victims seriously and that decisions on how to proceed in cases are not taken lightly.
Survivors say they had limited communication with lawyers
Oates, 69, was accused of abusing Ms Parsons on several occasions from the time she was just 14 after getting to know her through percussion classes.
He was also accused of forcing Ms Goss to have sex with him when she was 16, and of having sex with her on multiple occasions afterwards both at school and at his home until she finished year 12.
After separate committal hearings in 2018 and 2021, both women were grateful to be proceeding to trial, and knew that most cases did not get that far.
They had been allocated an OPP social worker to support them through the emotional hardship of the case.
But getting answers on the law was another thing, and both women say they had limited contact with OPP solicitors.
Despite asking multiple times for basic case information, like a copy of the charges against Oates, they allege the OPP did not provide it.
"We were always just brushed off with an 'Oh later, later,'" Ms Goss said.
The OPP prosecutes defendants on behalf of the Victorian community, but it has certain obligations to victims, like providing them with a copy of charges.
Not doing so is a breach of the Victims' Charter Act — a piece of legislation that's designed to protect the rights of victims in the legal system.
"[Having the charges was] extremely important, because it would have absolutely helped me to feel less frustrated, less angry, less rage … all those emotions that sit with you as you go through the process," Ms Goss said.
Deal labelled a 'significant concession'
Oates's trial was set down for September 2022, but just a few days before it was set to start, the women say they were contacted by police and the OPP.
Ms Parsons and Ms Goss describe what followed as a hurried meeting, where OPP representatives told them Oates had agreed to plead guilty to some charges and that it was a good result because they would not have to relive their trauma again at trial.
They had at least secured a conviction, something that could not be guaranteed if the case went before a jury and Oates was found not guilty.
The women say they understood from that meeting that the charges had been reduced, but they were still unclear on what the original charges were, and what reduced charges Oates would plead to.
Before the plea deal, Oates was set to be tried on 13 charges, including one of rape.
In the end, he pleaded guilty to four charges — two counts of sexual penetration with a person aged between 16 and 18, one of indecent assault, and one count of gross indecency.
Three of the four charges Oates faced were "rolled up". A rolled-up charge is one where a single charge takes into account multiple occasions where the same offence was committed. However, the judge can only sentence the offender as if it is one charge.
County Court judge Duncan Allen later described it as a "significant concession from the Crown".
"[The OPP basically said] we were very lucky that we got him to plea and we should be grateful. And that made me really angry. I don't know why I should be grateful about it," Ms Parsons said.
The Victims' Charter Act says the OPP needs to seek the views of a victim before it makes a decision to substantially modify the charges, but the women say this did not happen.
"[It was like], this is what's happening, this is what's been decided and we're doing this," Ms Goss said.
"I know that they're extremely busy there. And I just had the feeling that it was like, 'Oh, we're just gonna get this one over and done with because we've got to move on to the next one'."
In response to questions from the ABC, an OPP spokesperson said the office acknowledged the court process could be very difficult for victims.
"Between February 2021 and sentence on 7 December 2022, there were approximately 10 legal conferences (including telephone, online and in-person conferences) conducted between members of the prosecution team (either an OPP solicitor, or barrister briefed by the prosecution, or both) and one or both of the victims," the spokesperson said in a statement.
"Given this was a plea rather than a trial, it was appropriate for charges to be rolled up. A rolled-up charge is a collection of identifiable offences bundled together in a single charge. The final rolled-up charges, and plea opening, encapsulated the majority of the allegations against the Accused."
The spokesperson said the OPP would not comment on the substance of legal conferences, but said it took its obligations under the Victims' Charter Act seriously.
'We were gobsmacked'
It's a familiar story to Lee Little.
She says after her daughter Alicia Little was killed by her partner in a domestic violence attack in 2017, her calls to the OPP to get information on the case would often go unreturned.
She says meetings with the OPP could be confusing, and she asked the office if the family could have their own lawyer present to explain the process and represent their views.
But she says the OPP said no.
She says the OPP told her: "We're your legal representation."
When the OPP called the family in for a meeting one week before Alicia's killer was to be tried for murder, she says they were told that he had agreed to plead guilty to dangerous driving causing death instead.
A later coronial inquest found the perpetrator, Charles Evans, had an extensive history of violence against Alicia Little.
Lee Little said the representatives in the room made it clear that the decision had been made, and there was nothing the family could do.
"We were gobsmacked. Our views weren't considered," she said.
Charles Evans served two-and-a-half years' jail for the crime.
Grieving family felt left in the dark
Alan Forrest and his wife Elizabeth say they trusted the OPP through the legal process, after their daughter Abbey Forrest, 19, her partner Inderpal Singh, 28, and their 19-day-old baby Ivy died in a deliberately lit house fire in Point Cook in 2020.
They say while they felt "mushroomed", or kept in the dark, they believed the OPP had their interests at heart.
"They were saying they were supporting us … we'll make sure she gets what she deserves, we're on your side," Mr Forrest said.
Originally, the perpetrator, Jenny Hayes, was charged with three counts of murder.
Then in March 2022, Mr and Mrs Forrest say the OPP asked them to attend a meeting to discuss a potential plea before the trial and ask any questions they had.
"When we got there, they'd already made their minds up and they said 'We're going to plea [to three counts of arson causing death] … and that's the way it's going to be," Mr Forrest said.
"The questions we asked them, we didn't get answers."
A spokesperson for the OPP said decisions about whether indictable charges should proceed, and how criminal matters should resolve, were never made lightly, and that the views of both the Little and Forrest families were taken into account before the decisions were made to proceed on lesser charges.
In the case against Hayes, an OPP spokesperson said the office "sought the views of the victims' families about a potential resolution in March 2022, before the Crown determined to resolve the matter on the basis of pleas of guilty to three charges of arson causing death".
In the Evans matter, the OPP said the defence had proposed the dangerous driving charge on May 31, 2019, and it sought the views of Alicia Little's family on June 19, five days before the decision was made to resolve the case with a charge of dangerous driving causing death.
Victims of Crime Commissioner urges change
Two reports by the Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) over the last seven years have recommended the OPP improve the information it provides to victims about decision-making processes — and that the government strengthen the Victims' Charter Act.
The most recent report in 2021 focused solely on sex abuse survivors' experiences in the justice system and recommended an independent body be established to examine certain internal decisions made by the OPP.
The authors noted "we continue to be concerned that we do not know enough about the quality of decision-making processes (within the OPP and police)".
The government has implemented 13 of the 91 recommendations from the 2021 report, but those around making the justice experience better for victims have not been introduced.
Victims of Crime Commissioner, Fiona McCormack, believes urgent changes are needed — including victims receiving independent legal advice, along with being able to ask to review decisions made by police and the OPP.
"There's an enormous conflict of interest that exists in the role that [prosecutors] play in having to interact with victims, while also legally representing the state in a criminal case," she said.
"What's needed is legal representation at key points of the justice system for victims.
"They can't exercise their rights if they if they can't advocate for them, and that's why they need somebody in their corner, representing their voice."
Kathleen Maltzahn, CEO of Sexual Assault Victoria, said those changes and better training for lawyers who dealt with assault cases would have helped tremendously in cases like those of Clare Goss and Anthea Parsons.
"The government has a report telling them exactly what they can do to improve the criminal justice system and courts, but they've barely started implementing it," she said.
"There's still a very big gap between the support the community thinks survivors should get and what we're doing. The government has to put money into implementing those recommendations."
A spokesperson for the Victorian government said it had passed the first tranche of legislative reform in response to the VLRC's latest report last year.
"These new laws included new jury directions to address misconceptions in sexual offence trials and reforms to better protect the confidential health information of sexual offence complainants," the spokesperson said.
They said the government was taking the VLRC's other recommendations into account when it came to future initiatives.
'He just walked away'
The day Gregory Oates was meant to be sentenced in December, an occasion of vital importance to Clare Goss and Anthea Parsons, they say they were again frustrated by lack of communication from the OPP.
While the OPP solicitor called Ms Parsons to tell her she was unable to attend the hearing due to a medical incident, Ms Goss said she was never informed.
The women said the OPP barrister then turned up 10 minutes late after mixing up the time of the hearing.
When she did arrive, Ms Goss and Ms Parsons say she launched into proceedings, telling the judge that both women had already read their victim impact statement to the court previously.
A victim impact statement is where a victim of crime can explain what impact the offending has had on their lives and is taken into account by the judge in sentencing.
But the women had never read it out.
Ms Goss said she nudged the OPP social worker who was sitting beside her for a message to be relayed to the barrister that she wanted to read the statement to the court — and to her abuser Gregory Oates.
"I was very angry, and I was almost going to stand up and say, 'Excuse me, but this has to happen,'" Ms Goss said.
The barrister apologised, and Ms Goss was called up to read her statement.
In the end, Oates was sentenced to three years' prison wholly suspended — which means unless he commits another offence punishable by imprisonment, he will not serve jail time.
There were low maximum prison sentences for the crimes in the 80s when the offences were committed, and Judge Allen also took into account the long delays in the case due to COVID, Oates's age and health.
Judge Allen told the court that if Oates was found guilty on the 13 charges at a trial, he would have sentenced him to a significant term of imprisonment.
"He just walked away. He went and slept in his own bed. That's what he got," Ms Parsons said.
Ms Goss and Ms Parsons said they had heard nothing from the OPP since that day, including from the lawyer who worked on their case for more than two years.
"Abandoned, ignored. That one's done and dusted, let's move on," is how Ms Goss described it.
The OPP spokesperson said the office had not received a formal complaint in relation to the handling of the matter.
"If a complaint is received, it will be carefully considered in accordance with the OPP's complaints system, as required by the Victims' Charter Act 2006," the spokesperson said.
Ultimately, Ms Goss is thankful Oates was convicted of some crimes, and would encourage other victim-survivors to come forward to police.
"The more we do that, the more chance there is of the legal system, catching up and making the changes that [it] absolutely, essentially and urgently requires," she said.
"Because it isn't working. It's not justice, it's just a legal system."
