Glen
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
‘She wanted rid of me because she was scared of me because I had a disability.’
Glen has intellectual disability, epilepsy and brain damage caused by seizures. He works as an assistant at a large professional practice.
About two years ago, a female colleague made a complaint that Glen had touched her inappropriately.
Glen told the Royal Commission the allegation was ‘complete crap’.
The practice manager immediately suspended Glen.
‘They did an investigation, they didn’t assume things and they found out it was completely unsubstantiated. Then I was allowed back at work.’
The woman wasn’t happy about the outcome and went to police.
‘Four police came to my work … and they humiliated me in front of everybody. Staff were walking by.’
Glen asked to go someplace private but police refused. They immediately started reading out the conditions of the restraining order.
‘They were saying all this stuff that I’m not allowed to do … and jumping to kind of conclusions, and people walking by,’ Glen said.
‘I was embarrassed and humiliated and intimidated … People just jump to conclusions.’
Glen’s CEO came and spoke to police. Police gave the CEO a copy of the restraining order without asking Glen’s permission.
Glen phoned a friend and former supervisor, and police read the conditions of the restraining order to her.
‘I explained to them that [Glen] was a severe epileptic and the amount of stress and pressure they were putting him under at that point was unacceptable, and they needed to back off a little bit – they were really full-on,’ Glen’s friend told the Royal Commission.
Glen’s lawyer said police did not have to behave that way and should not have given the restraining order to the CEO.
Later, Glen went to the police station with a friend who is a disability lawyer. Police didn’t want to listen to him or give him any information.
Glen feels police believed the woman and thought he was not telling the truth because he has a disability.
Glen wasn’t able to go to work for several months because of the restraining order.
Glen’s lawyer asked police and prosecutors not to contact Glen directly because of his disability.
But police visited Glen’s house unannounced late at night to try to get more information from him. Glen says he felt harassed and pressured by police.
Eventually the court decided the woman’s claim was unsubstantiated and the restraining order expired.
‘There was evidence at work that [the woman] was lying. She kept on changing her story.’
Glen returned to work but people started treating him differently.
‘I was looked at as some creep.’
He discovered the woman ‘had told everybody at the clinic’ her story.
About a month later a second woman accused Glen of touching her.
Glen was able to prove he had never met this woman – they worked different shifts.
‘It seemed like a vendetta.’
Police turned up at Glen’s home and were very aggressive. They immediately treated him as a criminal even though he’d never met the second woman.
‘Apparently you can’t make the same accusations a second time, you know, for another restraining order. So, they got another girl to do it.’
A second restraining order was issued, and Glen couldn’t go to work.
Ultimately, police didn’t have enough evidence and the magistrate ordered the restraining order to be withdrawn and dismissed.
Glen is scared he will lose his job even though he didn’t do anything wrong.
‘Now my work is saying, “Just because it’s unsubstantiated, it doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen.”’
Other women in the workplace are now saying they are scared of Glen.
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.