‘Charismatic’ paedo cop Paul Reynolds preyed on more than 50 boys for three decades in evil reign of terror
An investigation has revealed that former Tasmanian police officer Paul Reynolds abused as many as 52 boys over a 30-year period and covered it up through his status.
A report has revealed that dozens of young boys were manipulated or sexually abused by a former police officer who abused his status to secretly approach his victims and their parents over a period of three decades.
A recent independent investigation into his conduct has found that Chief Sergeant Paul Reynolds abused his status as a ‘trusted’ member of the community to manipulate and abuse as many as 52 young boys up until 1988.
Reynolds, who continued to work for a decade after the allegations against him were first made, committed suicide in September 2018 amid an investigation into allegations of child abuse.
The report, led by lawyer Regina Weiss and published on Thursday, heard from 87 people, including 15 victims/survivors or their families.
This showed that Reynolds used the perception that he had power as a police officer to influence the outcome of criminal proceedings against his victims.
“But this wasn’t so much reality as it was a form of care,” Weiss said.
At one point, Reynolds visited a victim’s home with a police report about him, which Ms. Weiss said was likely falsified, and sexually abused him after she told him he could “drop” the complaint.
Senior Sergeant Paul Reynolds used his status as a ‘trusted’ member of the community to manipulate and abuse up to 52 young boys as early as 1988
“I have never been in trouble with the law, I have always kept myself neat and clean and always kept my best self,” the victim-survivor said in the review.
“I didn’t want to get into trouble or break the law.”
While Reynolds’ role built trust and community bonds, sports was his hunting ground.
He was closely involved in coaching football and basketball, refereeing and administrative duties. At the time of his death he was, among other things, chairman of the Northern Tasmanian Football Association.
As a coach, Reynolds was seen by some as “a father figure and role model,” offering families of teenage boys massages for their children after claiming he had experience in sports massage.
Others were offered “special coaching” that unsuspecting parents had no reason to doubt.
“The participants painted a picture of Reynolds as a member of the community, a person who was ‘larger than life’ and a police officer who was ‘always willing to help,’” Ms. Weiss said.
There was no evidence that Reynolds held a massage or sports therapy accreditation.
“I truly believe that one of the main reasons he wanted to take on the position of NTFA chairman was so that he could have unfiltered access to the dressing rooms at football matches,” one victim told the review.
An investigation has found that former Tasmanian police officer Paul Reynolds manipulated or sexually abused 52 boys over 30 years and concealed it through his status.
Reynolds managed to covertly normalize grooming and sexualized behavior through sexualized conversations and secrecy with teenage boys.
He would tell his victims explicit stories about encounters with women to lure them into a sense of intimacy and secrecy, before the messages would degenerate into sexualised conversations under the guise of experimentation.
One victim, a teenager at the time, described Reynolds as “just the best groomer and the ideal human being.”
“He was so charismatic that everyone wanted to be around him,” he said.
The investigation revealed shortcomings at sports organisations after a report was made to the highest board of the football association about suspected inappropriate behaviour.
An examination of the data revealed that this had not been reported to the police or any other agency.
Mrs Weiss made five recommendations, which the state has fully adopted.
It recommended establishing a compensation scheme, a framework for reparations for people abused or sexually assaulted by officers, establishing a dedicated victim management team within Tasmania Police and asking the government to make changes to the Integrity Commission Act.
It was also recommended to strengthen community engagement and build trust between police and sports organisations to prevent, identify and report grooming and sexual abuse.
The Weiss Report found seven reports were made to Tasmania Police concerning other former or serving officers and one report concerning a non-police officer.
There is no evidence of child sexual abuse by current officers within the force, the report said.
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National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
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Child Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)