Child Abuse Allegations Linked to Fatal Police Shooting of Officers

The alleged sexual assault of a child has been revealed as the reason for a search warrant against Dezi Freeman that ended with him shooting dead two Victorian police officers.

Fresh details into the August deaths of Det Leading Sen Const Neal Thompson, 59, and Sen Const Vadim De Waart-Hottart, 35, at Freeman’s home were detailed in a coroner’s court directions hearing on Monday morning.

Freeman, who was also known as Desmond Filby, was shot dead by police in March, after being discovered at makeshift campsite about 150km away.

The counsel assisting the inquest, Linsday Spence, said in his opening summary police had executed the warrant after receiving disclosure of an alleged sexual assault involving a child under the age of 16, as well as an attempt to involve a child in the production of child abuse material.

“The purpose of the search warrant was for the locating and seizure of electronic devices that were to be interrogated for the potential presence of child abuse material,” he told the court.

“It was also intended that the person of interest was to be arrested and subsequently interviewed.”

The two killed officers were among a team of police serving a warrant at his home at Porepunkah, 310km northwest of Melbourne.

After Freeman killed them, he led police on one of the nation’s largest manhunts.

The seven-month search for the 56-year-old ended when he died in a hail of police bullets on a remote property in Thologolong, near Walwa on the Victoria-NSW border, on 30 March.

State coroner Liberty Sanger was holding directions hearings for the inquest into the deaths of the police officers on Monday morning, before turning her attention to Freeman’s death in the afternoon.

The dates and the scope of the inquests – and decisions on who would give evidence – were expected to be set on Monday.

The coroner will examine the three deaths in detail to establish how they died and what could be done to prevent future deaths, according to Queensland University of Technology forensic criminologist Dr Claire Ferguson.

“They’ll have a full reconstruction of what actually occurred, and that might be establishing people’s exact positioning in the scenes and forensic evidence,” Ferguson said.

Speculation has been rife over how Freeman came to be in Thologolong, about 150km from the Porepunkah site where he fatally shot the officers.

That could also form part of the investigation.

Footage showed Freeman wrapped in a blanket when he emerged from the shipping container, which appeared to be a makeshift campsite, before pulling a gun from underneath and pointing it at police at Thologolong.

It was not known if he had fired the gun before multiple officers shot him dead, but the state’s police commissioner, Mike Bush, has maintained the shooting was justified.

Whether that video will be shown to the public will depend on the coroner weighing up the benefits of transparency and accountability and the probative value of people seeing police shoot someone, Bond University criminologist Terry Goldsworthy said.

Investigators had been exploring the possibility Freeman received help from others in evading police for 216 days, with Bush saying it would have been very difficult for him to get to where he was without assistance.

In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helpline International.