HINCH V GLENNON

It was day one, minute one, of my trial for contempt of court.

I was heading for a date with Pentridge and a time in jail. I knew it. And accepted it. And deserved it.

Despite what a judge would later say about me I was crucially cognizant of how my trial could affect the later trial of a calculating, child-molesting priest named Michael Glennon.

In chambers, privately, I sensibly, responsibly, asked my lawyer, Jack Winneke (now Judge John Winneke) to immediately ask the judge to have my trial postponed. I believed, justifiably, that publicity from MY trial could unfairly affect the following trial of the child-molesting priest.

A judge named Murphy (now dead) dismissed the postponement request in thirty seconds. He virtually told me and Winneke: We are here to try Hinch. Let’s get on with it. A Catholic, he even illegally questioned me about my faith – or lack of it -- when I insisted on an affirmation rather than an oath.

An Appeals court, ironically, later agreed with me and for a while this grossly evil man, Glennon, used my argument about taint to gain a brief freedom. The High Court, thankfully, put a sicko back inside.

Flashback to a time in Hawaii. I was there, on holidays, when the news was faxed to me that an Appeals Court in Australia had freed this sleazebag on my own predicted grounds of prejudicial prior publicity.

Because of Hinch, a court said, a child rapist was allowed back on the streets. A judge excoriated me. An Appeals judge said I had “permanently polluted the waters of the rivers of justice”.

A Sydney newspaper ran an editorial virtually calling me scum. It suggested there should be some sort of code that stopped “journalistic cowboys” like Hinch from being part of their precious code.

I was at an idyllic retreat on Kaua’i at the time when the fax came through. And I nearly threw up.

I knew I had done nothing wrong. Nothing to besmirch a journalistic profession which I treasured and respected. But it was the nadir of my professional life. A professional life I have been in for more than 45 years.

In print I was apparently some sort of irresponsible cowboy. That hurt.

I was bolstered by letters and calls from Glennon victims. And, sadly, there were heaps of them over the years.

Try this one:

“I was called to be a defendant witness during the trials where you were incarcerated. You were painted as being an evil man but, you were forgiven. I believed that you deserved what ever sentence you received, and for this, I now apologise to you. I believe that you have acted nobly and honestly at all times and respect you for this. But, when the devil has a ‘silken tongue’ it was very easy to be deceived.

I went to three camps with Glennon, that’s why I was called as a witness. I must say that during the times that I went on camp, it seemed to me that nothing untoward was going on.

I have talked to the mother of Glennon’s first rape victim. The girl was ten years old. I have corresponded with one of his young male victims. That trial was aborted in Glennon’s favour when two young male victims threw up and ran out of the courtroom under savage cross-examination

Michael Glennon has done more to stuff up my law-abiding life than any person in my life. His perversions put me in jail.

It is bizarre but I went to jail before he did. And I am proud of it.

The myth is that I thumbed my nose at the courts. Not true. The myth is that Hinch did something drastically, legally, disgraceful. Again not true.

It IS true I went on 3AW and named a priest who had been convicted of sexual offences against a ten-year-old girl --the only time he ever pleaded guilty. He had been in jail for that crime but was still running a camp for kids in Lancefield. Often the only adult there.

I have to be legally careful here but I know intimately of jurors who have put Glennon away again. Thankfully, for a long time.

I have also talked on radio to a former Glennon cellmate who claims the perverted former priest plans to kill me when he gets out of jail.

Also, being deliberately obscure, I have had contact with a Glennon juror. She said, in part:

“I have to say that I would love to know why anyone would let someone who was convicted of raping a 10 year old girl in 1978, coach an under 12s football team, Lalor Stars, and run the 'Peaceful Hand Youth Foundation' in Melbourne's Northern Suburbs five years later. I think in terms of prevention, no one did anything to ensure Glennon would not be a repeat offender. I am glad though, that I could have my say.

I would never have dreamed that representing the community in a jury would be so satisfying. Even though the community has no idea of what we actually achieved on Friday 8th August 2003, I am glad that my opinion can actually make a difference. I'm sure if the community knew the situation and Glennon's history, they would feel the same sense of relief that I do.”

For me, all of this was 17 years ago. Senses and outrage get numbed. When Glennon was convicted yet again recently I did not feel smug or vindicated.

But, in a newspaper, radio and television career of more than forty years, it was the most moral, correct, decent campaign I was ever involved with.

I still believe if my twelve days in jail stopped one child rape victim then who could ever say it was not time well spent?

October 26, 2003

.©Copyright Derryn Hinch 2003