Western Australia's police commissioner says his son's serious assault charges are hard to deal with as a family, but he is staying out of the legal process.
Russell O'Callaghan, the son of Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan, appeared in Fremantle Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with seven offences including deprivation of liberty, threats to kill and aggravated indecent assault.
Mr O'Callaghan said he had only spoken to his son during a phone call on Thursday and had first learned about the incident on Monday.
"Because it's obviously a police inquiry into serious offences which are alleged, I have to stay away from it and stay right out of the whole process," he told Fairfax radio.
Mr O'Callaghan said he was confident the experienced detectives knew what they were doing.
"I certainly wouldn't be asking too many questions about it because you don't want to be seen to be in any way influencing or putting pressure on anybody, so I have had nothing to do with the investigation at all."
The commissioner said it was hard for the family to deal with the situation, but as the commissioner he had to make sure justice was done.
"It's hard from a personal perspective, obviously, where families go through this sort of trauma and most of you would know about Russell's background with drug usage and mental health," he said.
Mr O'Callaghan said his son had come a long way in the past three years.
"But the issue with drug abuse is it's very easy to lapse and go backwards," he said.
"You live with the fact that it's always two steps forward and one step back and it's a long process - it could take a lifetime."
Mr O'Callaghan said his 34-year-old son ultimately had to manage his own life.
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