Badge of Betrayal

********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

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There’s a reason this episode took longer to release.
After our last episode aired, we were contacted by multiple independent sources urging us not to drop the story. What they shared raised new questions we couldn’t ignore.
In this episode, we follow a name that continues to surface in connection with events in Burnie decades ago.
We also examine new figures from Tasmania Police that reveal a growing number of serious internal complaints and a pattern that appears again and again inside the system.
Finally, we reveal the outcome of a Right to Information request seeking documents about a controversial decision involving multiple police deaths.
The department confirmed the documents exist.
But they won’t release them.

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****Content Warning:****This episode discusses alleged child sexual abuse and includes some graphic descriptions drawn from official Commission evidence. The content may be triggering or distressing. We encourage listeners to prioritise their well-being and pause or skip this episode if needed.
This isn’t hindsight. It’s a timeline.
In Episode 14, we go back inside the Ashley Youth Detention Centre and lay out the documented overlap appointments, movements, and professional relationships that now sit beside sworn Commission evidence.
As RTI requests unfold and more insiders come forward, this investigation keeps widening.
Because sometimes the most important question isn’t what happened.
It’s who knew and when.
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In this episode a second current serving police officer comes forward. They attended Reynolds funeral and have their own experience inside Taspol.
We also explore the links between Reynolds, James Griffin and the U-turn program that ran between 2003- 2013 in Tasmania.
For clarity Mission Australia delivered the U Turn program as a contracted provider within a government-led youth justice initiative. The allegations discussed in this episode relate to former police officers and individuals, not Mission Australia or its staff. Mission Australia did not employ Paul Reynolds and had no role in supervising his conduct.
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In the this fast tracked new episode, On Thursday Feb 12th - The Greens have called for a Parliamentary Inquiry into theReynolds matter after fresh information from the Badge of Betrayal podcast.

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