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The Stitch Up

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They had hoped he would go away quietly, fade into anonymity. Just another ex-cop with an axe to grind. In time they thought no one would listen. It has been 46 years almost to the day since Denis Ryan’s career as a ­Victoria Police detective came to an end after he tried to charge a priest, Monsignor John Day, with child sex offences. All hell broke loose in the Victoria Police Force; some of its most senior men tried to bring him down. But Ryan would not be silenced and people would, eventually, listen. In this week’s Australia Day honours, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia, recognition finally for his role in child protection investigations.

Ryan’s story is no tormented parable searching for meaning. The lesson is simple: do the right thing, no matter the cost. “I was a pain in the arse to the police force and the government. There was no way I would have stopped. None. I wish others would have done the same,” he says now. But Ryan paid a high price. It cost him the job he loved and the financial security of a police pension. He has just turned 86 and lives in a rented flat in Mildura, northwest Victoria, eking out a life on the old age pension. He knew at the time his doomed investigation of Day would lead to more victims. It troubles him to this day.

Full story here.

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