Principal who shredded notes about child sex allegations promoted by Catholic Church

3 months ago 14

A private school principal who shredded notes containing details of a youth ministry officer grooming underage students was promoted within the diocese weeks after the offender was found guilty on multiple counts of child rape.

Youth ministry officer Conor Hudson was found guilty on seven counts of sexual misconduct involving children at MacKillop College in Port Macquarie in May.

Conor Hudson used his “position of authority” to groom students, a judge found.

Hudson was sentenced in August to six years in prison for three counts of using a carriage service to groom a child, one count of sexually touching a child, and three counts of sexual intercourse with a child. The three victims were students at the school and aged 13 and 14 at the time of the 2020-2021 offending. Hudson was 18.

The Herald can reveal that by July, Cath Eichmann, who was the school’s principal from 2020 to 2024, was promoted to the region’s assistant director within the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools.

In a statement to this masthead one victim said she felt unsupported in the years following Hudson’s arrest, with the youth ministry officer program still in place at the school until recently.

“We haven’t heard anything from the school about what’s being done to make sure this never happens again. I’m honestly scared for other students and worried about what this says about accountability, safety and what the school actually values.”

“I’m honestly scared for other students and worried about what this says about accountability, safety and what the school actually values.”

Abuse victim

Hudson met the students while in a “position of authority” as a youth ministry officer, adding them on Snapchat, according to sentencing remarks. Across nine months, he messaged the girls, gradually turning their conversations from innocent or supportive to sexual. He sent sexually suggestive photos and, in one instance, sent a picture of himself parked outside the 13-year-old’s house, asking if he could come inside.

Eichmann was made aware of the grooming allegations in 2021. However, a court found Eichmann dismissed the claims, reprimanded the staff member who brought the allegations to her and destroyed the notes.

Cath Eichmann was Mackillop College principal from 2020 to 2024 before being promoted within the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools.

The notes were created by a female youth ministry officer who was approached by two of Hudson’s victims, along with another student. That youth ministry officer made notes of the conversation, had the girls sign them, and arranged an “urgent” meeting with Eichmann to discuss the “serious claims”, according to sentencing remarks.

“These girls had come up to me [with] concerns about [Hudson] ... contacting them via social media and making them feel uncomfortable,” the youth ministry officer told the court.

“Eichmann’s response was, ‘Those girls are known for starting drama. This is above your pay grade. You shouldn’t have done that’.”

In his sentencing, Judge Michael King said Eichmann’s actions appeared to be a case of “institutional blindness”.

“The notes no longer existed because despite what one would expect an intelligent person such as a principal to realise they were a valuable record, however, Ms Eichmann dealt with the notes by, I think she said, shredding them,” King said.

“There was, of course, no follow-up action, and it appears to me to be perhaps a case of institutional blindness. The higher one rises through the hierarchy, the less knowledge there is about anything improper having happened or anything to be concerned about.”

Eichmann claimed she had recorded the notes elsewhere.

In a victim impact statement, one of the girls who reported Hudson’s behaviour called the school’s inaction a cover-up.

“The offender’s predatory actions upon both myself and my peers took the value out of the actual education and instead focused on a situation which should have been resolved and reported that same week when leaders of the college were made aware of child grooming and foul play.

“Instead, it was disregarded and totally covered up and dragged on for years.”

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools said it was “aware of the issue” around the note shredding and was conducting an ongoing investigation.

Eichmann said she fulfilled her mandatory reporting obligations. “I remain devastated. My heart and thoughts go out to the families and victims impacted by this,” she said.

The four counts of sexual assault relate to the third victim, whom Hudson picked up from her home and drove to an Airbnb used for a youth ministry officers get-together. When he couldn’t get inside, he sexually touched the victim outside the Airbnb, before driving to a second location and sexually assaulting her in a car.

“He preyed upon my vulnerability as I was struggling with teenage troubles such as friendship issues and bullying. I didn’t tell anyone what had happened to me for more than a year; I was scared that no one would believe me,” she said in her victim impact statement.

“A case of institutional blindness.”

Judge Michael King

“I lost faith in everyone and I lost my dreams for the future. I lost hope and trust in [staff] at MacKillop College and struggled to take [them] seriously.”

The girl’s father said in 2023, following Hudson’s arrest, he called the diocese to ask about the youth ministry program being closed down.

“I was told, ‘I think you’re overreacting. Why would we shut it down for one stuff up?’ ” the father alleged.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools said it was “deeply concerned” by the “historical conduct” of Hudson.

“[His conviction] represents a serious breach of trust and a clear departure from the standards and values of our schools and parishes,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said an independent external review found MacKillop College and the diocese met statutory reporting obligations while also identifying “opportunities for improvement”.

“We are fully committed to adopting these recommendations and will share the outcomes with our school community once the process is complete.”

The spokesperson said the youth ministry program has been paused for a “comprehensive review and reset”.

Hudson is eligible for parole in August 2028.

Support is available from Lifeline 13 11 14; Beyond Blue 1800 512 348; Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800; National Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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