A former Scout leader says he resigned from the organisation because it was more interested in protecting itself than acting on allegations of child abuse against convicted pedophile Steve 'Skip' Larkins.
Armand Hoitink, who was a Scout leader in the Stockton area of the Hunter in NSW in the `90s, told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responsesto Child Sexual Abuse on Monday it was "common knowledge" in the movement there was a problem with Larkins.
He said he raised concerns on many occasions with Bill Metcalfe who was the Scouts district commissioner.
Among these concerns were reports that Larkins had been naked in a shower with boys at a Scout camp.
He also said there were stories Larkins had a Scout lie on his chest while he and the boy were alone in a tent, put up in a Scout hall.
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Larkins also approached children at a swimming pool offering them lollies.
"He's the reason I left the Scouts," Mr Hoitink said.
He told the commission sitting in Sydney that he had reported his concerns to Mr Metcalfe but it did not stop Larkins from having access to Scouts.
"It seemed to be common knowledge that this guy had a problem ... but they kept him in the Scouts."
Mr Hoitink said it was after he saw Larkins at a Scout jamboree in Queensland in 1998 that he left the Scouts.
He also said he was told that because Steve Larkins had Aboriginal background he could not be kicked out for fear it would be perceived as racism.
Counsel assisting the commission Gail Furness SC said that in a statement to the inquiry Mr Metcalfe denied this was ever said.
Mr Hoitink said "I know what I heard".
Before Mr Hoitink took the stand, the royal commission heard from victims who suffered at the hands of Larkins, now in jail for child pornography and sex abuse offences.
One witness known as AA told of the ongoing impact of being assaulted by Larkins when he was just 12 years old, an experience which he did not speak about until he was 20.
"I would burst into tears for no reason," he said.
"Once I was in a car with my mum talking about TAFE and I just started crying."
At the opening of the hearing Ms Furness said they would be asking how despite two decades of complaints against convicted pedophile, Larkins, was given parental responsibility over vulnerable Aboriginal Children in 2003.
