Claims that Puffing Billy sex predator Robert Whitehead was enabled and protected by a cabal of powerful men are to be investigated by the state Ombudsman.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Justice took a long-time to catch up to Whitehead, who died in 2015 at the age of 84. His death came months into a lengthy prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to 24 charges involving six boys and ranging from sexual penetration and indecent assault to false imprisonment.
The offences occurred from the 1960s to 1980s.
Sex crimes detectives believe Whitehead may have had many more victims, and Fairfax Media understands there is at least one new accuser who is considering reporting Whitehead's alleged abuse of him during the 1990s.
Three of Whitehead's victims spoke out last year about their belief that a small group of police, politicians and railway officials shielded their abuser from scrutiny. Whitehead was the subject of numerous complaints to police and railway officials over the years, but it appears action was not taken.
One victim who still works for the Victorian railways said Whitehead told him it would be futile to report him, because he "had protection".
The victim also said Whitehead had enough influence within the Transport Department to have a job offer to become a train driver rescinded.
"I'll never forget Whitehead standing on the stairwell above me saying: 'I told you that you should've bent over for me.' "
It can also be revealed that the Puffing Billy Preservation Society may face legal action over the failure of its previous leadership to protect boys under its care by not acting on complaints against Whitehead.
Law firm Ryan Carlisle Thomas is acting for several of Whitehead's victims and is investigating all potential entitlements to compensation.
The Ombudsman's investigation will go as far back as 1959, the year Whitehead served his first prison term, for abducting and molesting a boy scout.
Despite the serious conviction, Whitehead was given his job back on the Victorian government railways after his release from Pentridge Prison thanks to the intervention of Bolte government minister Sir Murray Porter, who lobbied railway chiefs as a favour for Whitehead's father, who was his friend.
Whitehead grasped his second chance, rising to become a controller at Melbourne's Spencer Street Station. He also became a prominent figure at the Puffing Billy tourist railway and other volunteer rail services.
He used his government and volunteer railway positions to befriend boys, several of whom he went on to sexually abuse. Farifax has previously revealed how at least one boy was sadistically abused and imprisoned at a dis-used railway building Whitehead leased from the government at Taradale, near Bendigo.
A letter from Deputy Ombudsman Megan Philpot to Wayne Clarke, one of Whitehead's victims, reveals the investigation will examine how Whitehead got his job back with the Victorian railways after his first conviction.
The investigation will also examine how Whitehead was able to lease state-owned property at Taradale and at Brighton beach in Melbourne's south-east. His role as secretary of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society will also come under scrutiny.
Importantly, the investigation will delve into how the Victorian railways department, the Puffing Billy Preservation Society and other volunteer railway groups responded to complaints about him.
Fairfax has previously revealed how police could not find a record of Whitehead's 1959 conviction in their archives.
Victoria Police has investigated why no record of Whitehead's first offence could be found and determined that his record had been removed from its main criminal registry in error.
