Reader Dieter Fischer posted a comment (on January 28, 2026) that prompted the research that underpins this post. He made the point that it is not only females that make false claims of sexual assault; men do too.
Dieter was commenting on our report ‘Safety in perjury for fake sex assault claims – why?
His post:
Not only females make false claims of sexual assault. What about young men, who claim abuse to gain financial compensation? The case of foster parent Tom Easling comes to mind, accused to 20 charges of abuse by a foster child. Tom was found not guilty on all charges. The young man had made it all up – and didn’t even get a slap on the wrist. Figure that!
So first up, let’s summarise the Tom Easling case;
Thomas Frank (Tom) Easling, an Adelaide foster carer and former South Australian public servant, faced 18–20 child sex offence charges involving eight former foster boys from the time he was a carer. After a trial lasting several years, a District Court jury found Easling not guilty of all charges in late November 2007. Critics and Easling himself argued that aspects of the investigation were flawed — allegations surfaced in parliament and media claiming police or child protection investigators had improperly influenced witnesses, offered inducements, or conducted interviews poorly. Note: the victim of the false claims was a male.
There are no comprehensive national statistics in Australia that categorically count the number of false sexual assault claims by gender (men v women). Available research focuses narrowly on specific subsets (e.g., rates of false reporting among all reports to police), not on how many were made by men versus women per se — and most sexual assault allegations in Australia are made by female complainants against male respondents.
Multiple research estimates indicate that 2–10% of sexual assault reports to police may be determined false after investigation; some surveys cite an average rate of around 5%. Police statistics consistently show women report far more sexual assaults than men (around 80-85% female victims in recorded police data).
According to the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data:
In 2024, there were 40,087 victims of sexual assault (victims, not assaults) recorded by Australian police — the highest number on record in over three decades.
In 2023, there were approximately 36,318–36,300 reported victims of sexual assault documented in ABS data.
Historical data show a rising trend over time (for example, about 26,892 victims were recorded in 2019).
Important distinction: these figures are victims recorded by police, not necessarily formal charges or convictions. Many reports may relate to incidents long after they occurred or involve multiple offences per accused.
For example, my two books* dealing with historical sexual abuse of minors at the Parramatta Training School for Girls (PTSG) show that the combined charges amounted to almost 50, with two dozen teenagers (at the time) claiming assaults.
*Presumption of Evil 1 & 2, dealing with the cases of Noel Greenaway and Frank Valentine respectively. See menu at right for details.
The 2016 “Billy Doe” story – Catholic Guilt? The Lying, Scheming Altar Boy Behind a Lurid Rape Case- https://www.newsweek.com/2016/01/29/billy-doe-altar-boy-sends-four-men-prison-philadelphia-rape-case-417565.html
is eerily similar to some of the Cathedral matters in Cardinal Pell’s case.
From the book The Persecution of George Pell by K Windschuttle, the Chronology of Tethering by academic Chris Friel (https://www.academia.edu/44935789/The_Chronology_of_Tethering), and a transcript of L Milligan’s July 2016 ABC 730 Program (https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news555/2016_07_27_Milligan_George_Pell_transcript.htm) we learn that Cardinal Pell’s accusers included:
The 2002 matters -PS – regarding camp in 1961. Details of Chapter 4 of the Costigan Royal Commission and links with Broken Rites are included in “The Making of Modern Witchhunt” in KW’s book.
Swimming pool complainants
AS – who had just come out of a psychiatric hospital – abuse while water skiing (corroboration was that his father remembered Cardinal Pell had once joined the family on a water skiing trip), gave evidence at the Committal but was not one of the complainants – Crown maintained that the testimony was relevant as “tendency evidence.”
LM – a drug addict and for a while dealt amphetamines. He was prosecuted for assault of his then girlfriend and another man over a drug debt in 2010 and he spent 11 months in jail.
DD – According to Milligan, he too had run foul of the law for assault and drink driving.
The 2016 ABC 730 program appears to be missing from the ABC website.
MB – said he came forward after watching Milligan’s program – but he had poor recollection at the Committal, avoided answering questions, telling the Crown Prosecutor “Just whatever mate”, “I’ll leave it up to you”, “No Comment”, “Whatever you think works”, and to the question “Do you recall what you said a minute ago”, replied “I can’t recall”.
Their statements to police seem to have been made at the time of the RC hearings in Ballarat.
PC – accused Pell and nuns of abuse in an orphanage and had a civil claim filed at the time of the 2020 ABC Revelations program. However, in 2005 he was featured in a Ballarat Courier story where he said he rejoiced his childhood spent at the orphanage, he became a ward of the state but held no grudges. He loved growing up in the boys orphanage – it was “great fun”. In 2008 he appeared in an ABC story where he said “they were good to me at the orphanage and did the right thing by me”.
Complainant who said he was abused in a cinema — year wrong, date of movie was wrong, said he cried out during film yet staff said ushers sat in theatre and would have heard cries. Also said Pell had abused him on an altar and at a school playground.
Bernie- in the ABC Revelations Program – said Cardinal Pell supervised boys in shower at orphanage and told them how to wash themselves, said Pell undressesd and washed him and that Pell had given him $1.. Said there was abuse at another pool St Josephs. Pell had no connection with orphanage and a nun checked records and said Pell had never visited. Pell never swam at St J pool. Bernie did not appear at Committal at the last minute.
[In relation to the report by Ballarat police officer Kevin Carson on alleged Ballarat suicides – this was investigated by Victoria Police in Operation Plangere – submitted 1 Nov 2012 but quietly made public at the RC in July 2015. There were not 43 suicides – only 1 suicide attributable to sexual abuse by the clergy. At an Adelaide Writers Festival in March 2020 before the HCA decision, L Milligan said — KC is one of the best people she has ever met….He spent years telling widows and mothers and sisters what had happened to people who had been victims of sexual abuse. He started compiling data, he found 43 suicides, most in Ballarat but a couple outside like the Foster’s daughter for instance. The Report was leaked to The Age. She said Vic Police, for reasons unknown, set about discrediting it. Operation Plangere – why people suicided. Found only one person had actually suicided because of child abuse and that was the Foster’s daughter. Rept leaked to the Australian and Kevin Carson was completely discredited. Milligan said she got the original unredacted Operation Plangere reports. She found people involved.
Cathedral matters
Choirboy witness J – got the year wrong, colour of wine wrong, procession details confused – – it was outdoor( police did not seem to allow for the timing of the long procession), J said the wine was found in a cupboard that was not built until 6 years later – evident in the video online of the High Court appeal when his evidence is read out from the “Redacted Book” – this was then redacted from the transcript but not the video.
The deceased choirboy had been on drugs and in prison but had never reported CSA as a mitigating factor prior to sentencing and had denied any CSA to his mother when he was asked at age 17/18.
***
In a report, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse outlines its work in conducting private sessions in 60 correctional centres:
Royal Commission staff engaged directly with prisoners, often visiting people in cells, prison yards or education areas to speak with them directly. The Royal Commission also developed specific communication materials, including materials for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability and people with low literacy. Some materials were translated into community languages and included infographic posters. A short film was shown in some correctional centres. This work enabled Commissioners to hold face-to-face private sessions in over 60 prisons. People in prisons not visited by Commissioners could provide written accounts or provide their story by audio recording. Commissioners also conducted some private sessions with prisoners by telephone. The Royal Commission established processes to ensure, where appropriate, referrals were made to psychological support services within prisons as well as external counselling and legal support services.
According to a Feb 2025 police report (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-13/nsw-police-child-sexual-abuse-alleged-fraud-claims-seven-charged/1049326480, NSW police have concerns about applications to the National Redress Scheme (payments up to $150,000) which was one of the key recommendations of the RC. No stat dec or JP signature required. In recent changes, physical and emotional abuse can now be included in the form. There are many organisations listed to help applicants complete their form. However, the NSW Police said: “They rehearsed what they needed to say in the application and a lot of them were striking(ly) similar to each other. I have evidence that says that they were actually coached and they were never sexually abused in the first place,” he said.
A disclaimer appears next to each private narrative on the RC website: Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who spoke with a Commissioner during a private session of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Real names of individuals have not been used, except of public figures in a public context. The information the person provided was not evidence, the person was not a witness, and did not need to take an oath or affirmation, although they were expected to tell the truth. Nothing in this story is a finding of the Royal Commission and any views expressed are those of the person, not of the Commissioners.
Costs as per RC expenditure rept: • Private sessions: $67.6 million over the life of the Royal Commission (20 per cent of total expenditure). Expenditure included the cost of managing call centre services and survivor correspondence, and all costs related to facilitating and conducting private sessions. This included Commissioner and related staff costs; participant travel costs; costs associated with collecting witness statements; counselling and support services for witnesses; venue hire and logistical costs; IT and transcription services; and media costs including associated advertising and communication materials.
Jack Jones Rather a harsh sweeping statement !
Could it be the persons to whom you refer as ” incoherent junkies” became such as a result of the sexual abuse they received at the hands of the Catholic Church ?
Furthermore it has been widely recognised that Pell by moving him from wherever there was a complaint facilitated the abhorent activities of a priest
The worst feeling I’ve had about this country , in relation to my conviction and incarceration is not just that the courts and the jury got it wrong . There are some circumstances about my counsel letting me down by not attacking the multitude of provable lies and sheer weight of anomalies.
What really disappoints me to the core is that both police and DPP had proof of lies and impossible statements which even if not lies , show that the version of events does not stand up to scrutiny and ignored it all. I came from a room that did not exist . People had meetings several years before they actually met. Another denied a meeting with me , this hurting my credibility by saying she was not in the premises involved till a year later , in spite of the fact that telephone records show she was where I said she was.
My father once said trust the police and the courts to get to the truth . Now I know that even he was fallible and naive. He died in 1996 . I’m glad he was not here to see what the police and Justice system had done to his son. Pv
Feel for you, I am arming myself with amunition to prepare for every possible attack from the OIC/ODPP. The investigation has been conducted with stunning bias.
And of course the feminist stooges who framed George Pell were men too, albeit incoherent junkies.