Theos-Talk Archives (January 2005 Message tt00461)

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, gregory <gregory@z...> wrote:

> Most Theosophists who make statements about Theosophical history 
appear 
> extraordinarily lazy: they don't bother to consult the original 
sources.
> Pedro's question about why the Sydney Police didn't prosecute 
Leadbeater 
> is a case in point. Pedro lives in Sydney. All the Police files on 
> Leadbeater are in the New South Wales State Archives in Sydney. 
Pedro 
> doesn't have to believe my report of the Police files (in "The 
Elder 
> Brother" and my thesis) or even those of Ian Hooker (now Presiding 
Bishop 
> of the Liberal Catholic Church of which Pedro is a priest) in his 
MA 
> thesis. Pedro can read the original documents in the Police file 
in the 
> State Archives. The Police concluded that Leadbeater was "a sex 
pervert" 
> but that his boys were so dominated by him that they would not 
give 
> evidence against him, and therefore a conviction could not be 
obtained in 
> any court action. This is not an uncommon sort of outcome of 
Police 
> inquiries everywhere: that a crime has been committed will not 
lead to a 
> conviction in the absence of evidence. It is a particular problem 
in 
> cases involving violence and/or sexual abuse within families.
> A document of considerable importance is not in the Police file: 
headed 
> "Precis of the Leadbeater Police Inquiry" it was prepared by a 
member of 
> the executive of the Sydney TS Lodge who had examined the Police 
evidence 
> and been briefed by the Police. It includes a report by a pre-
pubescent 
> boy who Leadbeater had attempted to masturbate.
> 
> Dr Gregory Tillett


In his posting in theos-talk

(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/9333)

Dr Tillett writes:

"Leadbeater was never charged with or tried for any sexual offenses, 
no charges were ever laid or tried, and no judicial decisions ever 
made with regard to allegations of sexual misconduct (with the 
exception of Narayaniah¹s abandoned claim in the 1912 custody case)."


At http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/ton2.pdf, we read the statement 
of the Sydney Police authorities after the inquiry about Leadbeater 
was concluded:


"The HEAD of CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT (Chairman of the 
Enquiry) makes the comment to the Inspector General of Police:

I am of the opinion, however, that there are good grounds for 
believing him (Leadbeater) to be a sex pervert. The suspicions 
generally expressed by ___________
are not without foundation.

The INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE comments:

The evidence in the possession of the Police does not appear to call 
for any independent action against Leadbeater at present, but 
sufficient is disclosed in the accompanying papers to justify his 
conduct being kept under observation. 

The CROWN SOLICITOR:

There is not much doubt that Leadbeater has in the past practiced , 
and probably does still advise, masturbation, but save as above, 
there is no evidence available."


The work quoted above, THEOSOPHY OR NEO THEOSOPHY?, compiled by 
Margaret Thomas, contains a true copy of a précis furnished to the 
Executive of the Sydney Lodge of the Theosophical Society (strongly 
hostile to Leadbeater), after inspection of the Report presented to 
the Minister of Justice, New South Wales. It is interesting to note 
that although a number of Leadbeater's pupils who were at The Manor, 
in Mosman, Sydney, at that time, including J. Krishnamurti, J. 
Nityananda, Fritz Kunz, C. Jinarajadasa and others, went voluntarily 
to the Police to give statements about CWL, NONE OF THEIR STATEMENTS 
HAS EVER APPEARED IN PRINT, IN ANY BOOK OR ARTICLE ABOUT C. W. 
LEADBEATER, UP TO THIS DATE! And yet they must be part of the files 
pertaining to the 1922 Sydney Police Investigation. 

Perhaps the fault lies in my laziness.


Pedro