SENIORS members of Scouts NSW knew a disgraced scouts leader was working with children, but they failed to alert authorities, urging him to resign from the organisation quietly.
A series of failings by the scouts movement, and police, emerged during the second day of the royal commission into child sex abuse in Sydney on Tuesday, which is investigating the actions taken by various organisations over convicted pedophile Steven 'Skip' Larkins.
Larkins was last year jailed for the aggravated indecent assault of two boys, as well as child pornography possession and forging documents.
But from the 1990s, rumours were circulating in the Hunter region about his inappropriate behaviour, including that he had cavorted with children in the showers and made a scout lay on his chest while he and the boy were alone in a tent.
In 1997, after complaints were made about Larkins giving kids lollies at a swimming pool, he was removed from having face-to-face contact with children, former regional commissioner of the Hunter Scouts, Allan Currie, told the inquiry on Tuesday.
"This type of publicity, as you would realise, is something that we in Scouts Australia can well do without," Mr Currie said in a letter to Larkins, which prompted counsel assisting the commission, Gail Furness SC, to query if Mr Currie was more concerned about the scouts' reputation.
"Probably," Mr Currie replied, before adding he was new to the job and had no training in such matters.
In 1997, a boy known only as AC, came forward to police with allegations he had been sexually abused by Larkins.
But the inquiry heard the police investigation took more than a year, before the boy's mother was wrongly informed the DPP was not prepared to proceed with the case.
By the time that issue was rectified, the victim had decided he no longer wanted to proceed.
The police officer in charge of the investigation, Sergeant Nigel Turney, conceded the delay was not acceptable and he should have informed the scouting organisation of the allegations in writing.
But he said the allegation was "at the lower end" of that type of offence.
"Yes, it involved a child, but you'd also have to look at the seriousness of the allegations," he said.
In 2000, a former scout known as AA told a scout leader that Larkins had indecently assaulted him.
Larkins was then suspended from the movement.
That same year, Larkins gained employment with the Hunter Aboriginal Children Services (HACS), of which he went on to become general manager.
Peter Olah, then chief executive of Scouts Australia NSW, said he informed police and community services about the abuse allegations but didn't hear back.
It was another three years before Larkins was persuaded to resign from the Scouts.
Mr Currie told the inquiry he knew Larkins was working in the "youth area".
"(It was) suggested that he could resign but if he wanted to appeal he could, but if anything came out that was defamatory to him it could cause some jeopardy to his employment," Mr Currie said.
Larkins resigned shortly afterwards.
Mr Olah said he was also aware Larkins was working for HACS, but said he could not remember if he alerted DOCs or police.
"I think I had taken reasonable steps to see Mr Larkins brought to justice and to protect those who were exposed to him," he said.
But when asked if he felt the scout movement had failed elsewhere, Mr Olah replied, "In terms of children being hurt? Absolutely."
The hearing continues.
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