Allegations of Pedophile Ring within Department of Foreign Affairs

In the public interest.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/alleged-pedophiles-referee-faced-child-sex-charges-20040326-gdilzu.html

This was back in 2004.

Alleged pedophile’s referee faced child sex charges

 

A former diplomat who was brought back to Australia to face child sex charges, John Holloway, was one of the referees who helped his colleague, alleged pedophile Robert Scoble, move to a new job at Telstra.

Scoble – arrested in Bangkok last week on pornography charges – reported to Mr Holloway in 1984 and 1985 while he was under internal investigation by the Foreign Affairs Department for procuring and disseminating sex photos of children as a diplomat.

Despite two incidents and two investigations within a year, Scoble left the department with glowing references from his superiors for a career as a Telstra executive in South-East Asia.

 

Mr Holloway’s involvement in the saga has raised questions about the findings of a report commissioned by the Government in 1996 to examine the allegations of a pedophile ring within the department.

It found that the department did not cover up Scoble’s activities, because those who spoke to Telstra were not aware of the investigations into his activities.

 

Yet the report also found it was “probable” that Scoble’s branch head – now identified as Mr Holloway – had told Telstra Scoble was held in “extremely high regard”, paving the way for the job.

Mr Holloway held the Canberra post of branch head, South-East Asia, at the time Scoble was being investigated and his subsequent departure for Telstra.

Scoble was a senior diplomat in Hanoi at the time, including stints as acting ambassador.

 

There are other inconsistencies in the inquiry report’s claim that no referees were aware of the investigation into Scoble.

Richard Broinowski, a former ambassador to Vietnam and another of Scoble’s referees, attended an interview by an officer when Scoble was being questioned about using a diplomatic bag to send photos of naked young men to a colleague.

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Professor Broinowski yesterday recalled the interview and said he was aware of an investigation. But he reiterated that he was only aware of one photo, in which the young male subject was clothed, and he believed Scoble’s assurances that he was not a pedophile.

In another twist, the inquiry into claims of pedophilia within the department was launched by the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, just weeks after Mr Holloway was arrested and brought back to Australia to face charges under new child sex laws.

The high-profile case – Mr Holloway had been Australia’s ambassador to Cambodia – involved a charge that Mr Holloway had had sex with a 14-year-old Cambodian boy. Two Cambodian youths were brought to Australia by Federal Police to testify.

Mr Holloway denied the charge and said he had never been a pedophile. He was acquitted after the magistrate, Michael Somes, said the two young witnesses gave inconsistent evidence.

That acquittal occurred in the middle of the inquiry into Scoble’s activities. The final report by Pam O’Neil made no reference to Mr Holloway’s participation in the case. Mr Holloway, understood to be abroad, could not be contacted.

 

The department would not comment on Mr Holloway’s role in the Scoble affair. But it said it had introduced widespread reforms of its practices in the late 1990s and no pedophile activity had been reported among Australian diplomats since.

Scoble has been granted bail by Thai authorities after being charged on Saturday with distributing pornography and employing an unregistered worker.