Families SA 'fooled' into hiring pedophile

Pedophile childcare worker Shannon McCoole boasted of fooling Families SA into hiring him by lying in a psychometric test, a royal commission has heard.

The claim was made by the assistant director of an Adelaide out of school hours care (OSHC) centre where McCoole worked casual shifts between 2010 and 2014.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wept as she told South Australia's Royal Commission into Child Protection on Friday that McCoole's vile crimes had led her to question her entire career.

She said she raised concerns about McCoole's excessive touching and the fact he had taken photos of children on his personal phone.

But they were "brushed off" by the centre's director, who was close friends with McCoole and admitted to not following the school's recruitment policy when she hired him.

"It's very difficult because she was his friend and I didn't want to upset her," the assistant director said.

"It was wrong of me. I should have done something."

She said McCoole took a particular shine to a group of children aged between seven and 10 and endeared himself to their parents.

"The kids thought he was great, and the parents," she said.

"When all this came out they couldn't believe it."

McCoole was given a personal reference from the OSHC director that helped him to secure work as a residential carer with Families SA.

The director, who also can't be named for legal reasons, told the commission she became aware McCoole had been suspended from working with Families SA in 2013 after he was accused of abusing a girl under his care.

But she did not believe the allegation and thought it probably stemmed from a vengeful colleague.

"I just thought he'd upset somebody, a work colleague, and somebody had put in a complaint about him," the director said.

"I knew his character overall and how he interacted with children.

"I do recall thinking it was lucky we didn't require him (to work at the OSHC centre) while he was going through this process."

The director said she did not think her friendship with McCoole had caused her to miss red flags but admitted her assistant director's concerns had proven to be justified.

"It's come out that he's a very evil person ... she picked up on something," she said.

Families SA's decision to hire McCoole in early 2012 came despite the fact his psychometric test results classed him as "high-risk" and "very unsuitable".

The inquiry has previously heard that Families SA staff were not shown how to properly interpret the test results.

Families SA has since changed its recruitment process for care workers.

McCoole was jailed for 35 years in August last year for 18 state and two federal offences, including persistent sexual exploitation of children, sexual intercourse with children, and the production and dissemination of child pornography.

Commissioner Margaret Nyland is examining how McCoole, who was also an administrator of a global child pornography website, was able to offend against children in state care between 2011 and 2014.