Freshly unearthed abuse claim ahead of notorious paedophile's prison release

A freshly unearthed allegation against one of WA's worst serial paedophiles who molested dozens of teenage boys is under scrutiny by authorities, just weeks out from a decision on his release from prison after 15 years.

Dennis McKenna abused students in the 1970s and '80s while he was the warden at St Andrew's Hostel, a boarding lodge in the town of Katanning, 290 kilometres south-east of Perth.

McKenna used a combination of favouritism, intimidation and threats to abuse teenage boys under a veil of secrecy at the hostel.

Justice Marcus Solomon is weighing up what life will look like for McKenna when his sentence of more than 15 years expires later this year.

But in an extraordinary development outside court on Friday, McKenna's victims claimed there may be at least one more abuse survivor who complained to police.

Attorney-General Tony Buti has confirmed to the ABC that information about the complaint had been provided to the State Solicitor's Office.

"They are considering it," he said.

Prosecutors have sought to declare McKenna a high-risk serious offender, which could have him jailed indefinitely or see him face tough restrictions for the rest of his life upon release.

"Dennis McKenna's offending against children is abhorrent, and I condemn his behaviour in the strongest possible terms," Mr Buti.

"If anyone has allegations against Mr McKenna I would strongly encourage them to go to the police so the allegations can be properly investigated."

Freshly unearthed allegation

McKenna's brazen and repetitive offending of hostel students was revealed over the course of four separate court cases between 1991 and 2015.

McKenna was jailed in 1991 but released after a year and 10 months on parole. Police laid further charges in the late 2000s and he was jailed in 2011 for a 15-and-a-half year term.

Expert evidence given to the court by a forensic psychologist and psychiatrist pointed to a lack of offending between 1993 and 2011 as a reason that McKenna would be a low risk of committing a serious offence in the future.

But Maggie Dawkins, a whistleblower who worked in Katanning during McKenna's period of offending, said today that she knew of a police report made in 2004 or 2005 by a man who claimed he was assaulted by the paedophile.

McKenna was not charged in relation to that matter, meaning it was not disclosed or taken into account in the proceedings.

But Ms Dawkins questioned how a decision about McKenna's release could be made based on the belief he had not offended between 1993 and 2011, given the police report.

"We know that this man went to the police and made a police complaint. There is an incident number," she said.

"The expert witnesses haven't had a chance to even know that information."

That complaint is the one now under consideration by the State Solicitor's Office.

The deciding factor

Justice Solomon is deciding whether to declare McKenna a high-risk serious offender, which would see him face tough restrictions as to where he could go and who he could socialise with.

He could impose a continuing detention order, meaning McKenna would be locked up for life, but state prosecutor Brett Tooker and McKenna’s lawyer Joel Grinceri said a restriction order would be more appropriate.

The court heard from various experts about McKenna's capacity to reoffend. Among them was forensic psychiatrist Peter Wynn Owen, who considered the risk low, primarily due to his advanced age and lack of offending between his 1991 and 2011 jail sentences.

But Dr Wynn Owen said the serial paedophile continued to "categorically" deny any offending after 1981.

"[He] attributes blame to victims, suggests victims in fact instigated aspects of the offending," he told a hearing in July.

"If an individual is denying offending, it suggests they are not going to be able to engage with treatment."

Dr Wynn Owen said McKenna continued to hold distorted views that, in his mind, minimised or justified his offending.

"This distortion … enabled him to continue to offend over a long period of time," he said.

Justice Solomon's decision is due to be handed down in November, weeks before McKenna’s sentence is due to expire.