The Australian: Sins of the monsignor

Australia -

DENIS Ryan says he had no trouble accepting the double-dealing he saw as part of the culture of the Victoria Police in the 1970s.

"A nod here, a wink there among colleagues to do the 'right thing' was not viewed as duplicitous or corrupt," he says. "In those days, it was simply the way the job was done. It made things easier for everyone and you might need a favour back the other way sooner rather than later."

Back then Ryan was working as a senior detective constable in Mildura, the border capital of the Sunraysia district of northwest Victoria.

"I never professed to be a saint or sinner," says Ryan, now 72, and based at his Mildura orchard. "But I never took a bribe."

More than 30 years later, Ryan is seeking redress from the police force he says cut short his career after he raised allegations of sexual assault of children by a Catholic priest – with the rank of monsignor – in the early '70s.

Read the article The Australian dated November 20, 2004

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