http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/mother-knew-of-sex-risk-cairns-court-hears/story-fnjpusyw-1226810050107 Mother 'knew of sex risk' Cairns court hears Court Cairns Queensland Friday 24th January 2014 From: The Cairns Post by: Caitlin Guilfoyle Date Printed: January 25th 2014 A PSYCHOLOGIST who assessed a family before they fostered a young known sex offender says the girls' mother knew about the boy's dark past. Three sisters, who cannot be named, are suing the Child Safety Department because they were sexually assaulted by their foster-sibling during 2006. At a trial which started this week, Cairns District Court was told the teenage boy was convicted of the digital rape of a three-year-old girl at a previous foster home before he lived with the girls. The sisters, who were aged 18, 16, and 14 at the time of the repeated abuse, allege Child Safety should have known it was unwise to place the boy in their home. Two of the sisters told the court a Child Safety officer attended their home before the boy moved in, and told them he had "done something" to a little girl "but we had nothing to worry about ... it wasn't very serious". The court yesterday heard that person was a psychologist engaged by Child Safety, who undertook assessment with the family before they were approved as kinship carers for the boy. According to Child Safety's website, kinship care status is given to someone who is "a relative, considered to be family or a close friend, or is a member of the child or young person's community". But when the psychologist testified yesterday, she told the court she would "never" have downplayed the seriousness of the boy's past offences. "That never occurred. I would never have said that," she said. "The foster parents were very confident and cooperative ... if I had any doubt I would never have approved that situation." She told the court she asked the girls' mother to speak with them about the boy's previous offence but she didn't recall speaking to them directly about the details. "I do recall we spoke about risks ... they did understand what he had done, and the sexual offences he had done. I remember their faces being a little bit disappointed ... then we spoke about the safety plan," the psychologist said. The court heard the verbal safety plan included specific sleeping arrangements and boundaries. The psychologist said her assessment was to establish whether the family had the capacity and understanding to look after the boy and manage the situation, but she was not supposed to "predict" whether the boy would offend again. The girls' barrister, Richard Trotter, asked why she didn't speak with all the girls who lived at the home. "(The mother) was very confident, and happy to be open about this with all the children," the psychologist said. "I did know there was a significant risk of harm to others ... I did voice my concerns to (the mother) about this placement. All I got back was yes, yes, yes ... " Barrister Andrea Lawrence, for the girls' mother, suggested the psychologist never met the girls' mother, or went to their house. The psychologist told the court she did both. The trial continues Tuesday 28th next week.