Badge of Betrayal

***Trigger warning:This episode contains discussions of child sexual abuse, grooming, trauma, sexualised behaviour toward minors, and suicide. It may be distressing for some listeners. Please take care while listening.
In this episode of Badge of Betrayal, we speak with Tasmania’s Independent Regulator, Louise Coe, about a serious gap in the state’s child safety oversight system.
The Office of the Independent Regulator was created to oversee organisations that work with children and young people, including how they respond to allegations of reportable conduct. But in August 2025, Tasmania Police told the regulator they had received legal advice that they were not captured by the scheme meaning they stopped providing key information, including the identities of police officers involved in reportable conduct matters.
For eight months, that gap remained.
Louise explains why independent oversight matters, why the reporting scheme exists, and why police interactions with vulnerable young people require close scrutiny. She also discusses the importance of backdating the law to cover the period where reporting stopped, and why culture change inside institutions is just as important as technical compliance.
Later in the episode, we share part of an anonymous email from another victim of Paul Reynolds. The email includes graphic and deeply distressing details of alleged grooming, emotional manipulation and sexual abuse, and shows how hearing this podcast has helped some people reframe what happened to them.
If you have information that you would like to share, email us anonymously at [email protected]
If this episode is triggering, please pause and seek support.
Lifeline: 13 11 14 — https://www.lifeline.org.au

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 — https://kidshelpline.com.au

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 — https://www.1800respect.org.au


See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

***Trigger warning:This episode contains discussions of child sexual abuse, grooming, trauma, sexualised behaviour toward minors, and suicide. It may be distressing for some listeners. Please take care while listening.
For years, it was brushed aside as banter. Something uncomfortable, but never fully spoken about.
In this episode, another former student comes forward to describe the influence Reynolds had over a tight-knit group of boys, and the behaviour they are only now, as adults, beginning to understand differently.
He speaks about grief, vulnerability, power, and the way trauma can shape a life long after childhood. He also reflects on why so many men stay silent, and what happens when that silence finally starts to break.
This is a confronting and deeply personal account of shame, silence, masculinity, and the long shadow of things left unsaid.
If you have information that you would like to share, email us anonymously at [email protected]
If this episode is triggering, please pause and seek support.
Lifeline: 13 11 14 — https://www.lifeline.org.au

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 — https://kidshelpline.com.au

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 — https://www.1800respect.org.au




See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Tasmanian parliamentary hearing has exposed a shocking child safety loophole: for months, Tasmania Police were effectively outside the state’s reportable conduct scheme.
In this episode, we unpack the committee bombshell, what the regulator revealed, and why the failure to report police matters is causing alarm. We also share new listener information and a fresh lead connected to Paul Reynolds that could open another line of investigation.
If you have information that you would like to share, email us anonymously at [email protected]

If this episode is triggering, please pause and seek support.
Lifeline: 13 11 14 — https://www.lifeline.org.au

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 — https://kidshelpline.com.au

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 — https://www.1800respect.org.au

If you have information that you would like to share, email us anonymously at [email protected]


See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2019, a major review into Tasmania’s prosecution system found it was working “satisfactorily.”A few issues. Some pressure. Nothing the system couldn’t handle.
But what happens when that pressure builds quietly… over time?
Through an RTI-obtained document, a new internal review from 2024 reveals a system under strain growing case loads, increasing complexity, delays in disclosure, and resources struggling to keep up.
In this episode, we step back from individual cases and examine the system itself the warning signs, the missed opportunities, and the environment these cases existed within.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

********Trigger and Content Warning*******
This episode contains discussions of alleged abuse, addiction, and trauma. it also contains strong language. Listener discretion is advised.
If this episode raises anything for you, support services are listed in the show notes.

He doesn’t want you to know his name. But he wants you to hear his story.
In this episode, we speak to a man we’re calling X a former schoolboy, now an adult still carrying the weight of what he says happened to him decades ago.
What begins as a story about football…about mentorship…about a trusted figure in a young boy’s life…
slowly unravels into something far darker.
X describes a relationship he says started with trust, encouragement, and validation — before shifting into behaviour he now understands as grooming.
At the time, he says he didn’t question it.He couldn’t.
Because this was someone in a position of power.Someone respected.Someone he believed was helping him.
Now, speaking from a rehab facility where he’s trying to rebuild his life, X opens up about the long-term impact the addiction, the mental health struggles, and the years of confusion, shame, and silence.
He also shares why he’s speaking now…and what he believes others may still be holding onto.
If this episode is triggering, please pause and seek support.
Lifeline: 13 11 14 — https://www.lifeline.org.au

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 — https://kidshelpline.com.au

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 — https://www.1800respect.org.au

If you have information that you would like to share, email us anonymously at [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.