Tasmania Police was handed credible evidence that a man working as a children's nurse had been discussing child abuse online, four years before he was charged, but nothing was done because it was "filed inappropriately".
Tasmania's Commission of Inquiry into Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings has turned its focus to the Department of Justice.
It began by examining who and what police knew about James Geoffrey Griffin prior to 2019.
It was Tiffany Skeggs who made the first formal report.
She went to police in May 2019 and told them Griffin had groomed and abused her over a number of years.
Police in Hobart began an investigation and sent the file up to Launceston in July 2019, where it was given to Detective Senior Constable Glenn Hindle.
Senior Constable Hindle told the commission he had no knowledge of Griffin prior to receiving the file.
As he began to look into Griffin, he found other entries in the system.
"I recall there being about four or so entries sporadically over a period of years where he did come to attention for concerning behaviours," he told the commission.
The entires on file dated back a decade, beginning in 2009 with a report Griffin had been upskirting girls on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry where he sometimes worked as a medic.
Senior Constable Hindle said a search of Griffin's address didn't reveal any corroborating material and so the investigation was dropped — but it was in the system, with a note that Griffin had "above average ability to encrypt his data".
The next notification was in 2011 and involved historical child abuse allegations.
The report came from Child and Family Services, who declined to tell police who the notifier was. It was left there.
Police Commissioner Darren Hine has since told the commission "perhaps an investigator who was a bit more curious could've found out who the notifier was" and it was "lost opportunity for some enquiries to be made".
The next report involved Ms Skeggs, and was made in 2013 by people concerned for her welfare.
"I believe there were some representatives or parents from the netball arena that may have spoken up on her behalf and I believe also her mother may have made an approach to police," Det Hindle said.
Again, Commissioner Hine said the way the matter was dealt with was not appropriate, then or now.
"This matter certainly needed to be handled better," he told the commission.
Finally, in 2015, there had been credible evidence provided by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) that Griffin had been discussing child abuse and child exploitation online.
Senior Constable Hindle said from looking at the file it appeared the allegation had been unresolved "and further effort could have been made".
"If it was true, there should have been a conviction against his name," he told the commission.
Senior Constable Hindle told the commission he believed the file had never been requested from the AFP but Commissioner Hine corrected this, telling the commission it was in Tasmania Police's hands, but "nothing was done about it… it was filed inappropriately and no further action was taken.
But there were other reports to police that weren't in the system.
That included an informal conversation with Kylee Pearn back in 2011 where she told police Griffin had abused her as a child.
Ms Pearn had always believed there would be a record of it in case anyone came forward in the future.
"It should be [in the system] if there's due diligence by the officer that directly spoke to that person," Senior Constable Hindle said.
He told the commission there was some anonymous information relating to Griffin but it was unclear where it came from.
Senior Constable Hindle also told the commission there was nothing on file about a call made to police in 2000 from a man who had purchased Griffin's old laptop from him.
The commission earlier heard the man had contacted police in 2000 after discovering potential child exploitation material on it. When police did nothing, he followed up the next year.
Senior Constable Hindle told the commission that man contacted him in December 2019, after Griffin's death, and told him about his attempts to report Griffin almost two decades earlier.
Senior Constable Hindle was unable to find any evidence of the report.
On Wednesday, Commissioner Hine told the commission police did investigate the man's claims.
CDs with the material were sent from New South Wales to Tasmania, but as "images of young children wearing bikinis" did not fit the definition of child exploitation, the case was closed and the CDs destroyed.
After it became clear police had prior knowledge of Griffin dating back to 2009, Commissioner Hine ordered a review of their information and responses. That report was released in February 2021.
On Wednesday, Commissioner Hine said police had already "taken significant steps" to improve the experience for victim-survivors and he again apologised to those failed by the system.
"It has been confronting to hear the impact that Griffin's offending has had on the lives of victim-survivors and their families," he told the commission.
"Be assured that you have been heard. And we have learned from your experiences."
The commission is conducting hearings until August 19, with live streaming available.
