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Families SA boss resigns in wake of child abuse scandal

Families SA boss resigns in wake of child sex scandal

Families SA deputy chief executive David Waterford has resigned after admitting he gave inaccurate information to Minister Jennifer Rankine, who then inadvertently misinformed the public.

Last Tuesday, Mr Waterford broke the news a 32-year-old residential carer had been charged with sexually abusing seven young children.


His resignation was announced this morning.

It comes just days after revelations he was aware the carer had been the subject of an internal investigation a year before he was charged.

Mr Waterford has previously told the media there was nothing remarkable about the man.

In a statement today, he said that after reading source documents, he realised he had misinterpreted information.

“This failure caused me to honestly but inaccurately brief the Minister and Chief Executive,” his statement said.

“I believe that as a consequence the Minister made statements that were inaccurate.

“Having identified this serious mistake on my part, I determined that I should resign.”

But exactly how the public was misinformed remains a secret.

Acting Premier John Rau said: “From my point of view the worrying issue is whether or not there could be some suggestion that there was some prejudice to a fair trial in this matter.”