Ray Leary - A Beautiful Boy: Rays Story

A BEAUTIFUL BOY

RAYS STORY

by Ray Leary

with Kate Shayler

This is an IndieMosh book

brought to you by MoshPit Publishing

an imprint of Moshers Business Support Pty Ltd

PO BOX 147

Hazelbrook NSW 2779

http://www.indiemosh.com.au /

Copyright 2016 Ray OLeary and Kate Shayler

All rights reserved

Licence Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If youre reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the author and publisher.

Disclaimer

We have made every effort to disguise the paedophiles and other criminals in this book unless their crimes are already on public record. We would like to name and shame each and every person who abused Ray and his mates but the law forbids it. Litigation could be just another set of legal hurdles to confront. Therefore any likeness to a real person is accidental.

Ray Leary and Kate Shayler

Thanks

I, Ray, want to thank some people for different things as far as getting this book out goes.

To my children I thank you for your support and love and for telling me that you are there for me. Thank you for your patience and for your gentleness in telling me some times that you dont want to hear any more about my struggles. I could not be more proud of you both. You are what matters to me more than anything.

To Lou, my ex-wife I thank you for your strength when I had none left in the hard times. Your support made the best times possible too. I thank you for raising our wonderful children so well. I will always treasure the memories of the love we had.

To Ross Duncan you have been there for me in the toughest of times, with words of wisdom or as the bearer of disappointing news. You have kept me together through my darkest times and saved my life. You have been a rock in Journey Home.

To my mates Greg, Rod and Lenny you are honest, loyal and true friends and I could not have gone through revisiting my life for this book without you.

To my nephew Derek thank you for all your support on those early morning trips to see my kids. It would have been really hard without you mate.

To the journalists who have listened, heard and acted Presenter Quentin Dempster and Producer Greg Miskelly from ABCs 7.30 NSW, Kate McClymont, John Hill and Daisy Dumas for reporting on issues that matter.

To Wattle Place thank to the staff especially Matt my counsellor for the support and help you have given to me and my family.

To SAMSN I thank you for being there for me with help and advice.

To Kate Shayler thank you for putting it all into words despite the difficulty of the subject.

To readers thank you for reading my story. Please do what you can to be aware and protect vulnerable children. Please listen and act.

Ray Leary
April 2016

Prologue

I need to get to work at the beach just after lunch. No, Im not a bronzed, confident life guard but I am a life guard of a different kind. Im middle aged, parts of me are broken and parts are wearing out. I can still pass for a cheerful younger bloke though.

My job is to watch young people, but not the ones who know who they are and where theyre going. No, the kids I look for are the down-and-outers, the street kids and kids on the edges. If theyre in the crowd, theyre most likely looking for stuff to nick. I can pick them. Thats the first lot I watch.

The other lot I watch are the men, hands in their pockets, eyes roaming. Unaware of me. They scan the crowd then they zero in on the same kids Im watching. When they fix their gaze I follow it and theres usually one or two boys who theyre focused on. Sometimes the men have picked their targets and made contact already. My job is to get to the boys before the contact goes any further. The kids are in danger.

They remind me of my brother Eddy when he was a happy go lucky kid. He could ride a boogie board better than anyone. He was just beautiful to watch with his long blond hair and easy, fluid style. That was before they got him.

Starting a conversation with the boys is easy for me. Ive had a lot of practice.

Gday. Nice board. Christmas present?

Nuh.

Didnt nick it, did ya?

Found it. Over there. Them men said I could ave a go.

I want you listen carefully, all right? Do they want the board back?

Yeah.

All right. What I want you to do is leave the board right here, get on a bus and go home.

No way mate. This is so cool!

It is cool. But when you give the board back, youll have to pay for it.

No, they said we can have em all day if we wanna. They dont want no money.

No they dont want money but you will have to pay. I know. Ive been there, done that. Theyll make you pay in other ways.

Ah fuck off mister. You dont know shit.

I know shit mate. And Im here to tell you, you are headin for the same shit I got into. Im tellin you. Stay away from them men! Theyre trouble.

They try anythin, Ill tell em to fuck off!

Theyre bigger and stronger than you and they wont let you go. Come on. Ill buy you a milkshake and well talk. I cant offer anything as good as a boogie board but a milkshake usually does it. I take them to the milk bar. I tell them my story and then its up to them to stay on the beach or get straight on the bus and go. I can only hope they make the right choice.

Tomorrow Ill go for the boys on bikes in the bush. I know the places they still get taken to.

CHAPTER 1.
Nanny Sheehan

Mum, Mum, look at

No my boy. Not Mum remember? Im Nanny. Your mum lives a long way away.

Nanny Sheehan was my carer when I was a child. I was born in 1961 in the Royal Womens Hospital, during a time when all you needed was love, according to The Beatles. Mum probably whispered to me, Hello number six. Little Raymond. Oh I hope I can keep you.

Mum and Dad were living in inner city Darlinghurst and each of her six children was taken away by Child Welfare, except for one who died of cot death. Dad was Aboriginal but us kids werent officially Stolen Generations. We were the kids of a violent alcoholic father and a battered wife who couldnt manage us.

Sis tells me that after my birth I went home with Mum but before I was two years old, I was sent to Nanny Sheehan. Sis and my elder brother Ken kept in touch but Wendy and Suzanne were adopted out and never heard from again. Sis and Ken were in homes. Homes were places where lots of kids, maybe thirty, lived with only one or two adults in charge of them.

Nanny lived in a terrace house with her son who was a quiet alcoholic. The house was in the inner city and there was a lot of public housing around where the poorer people stayed. Many of them were Aboriginal. Mum says now that when she visited me at Nannys Id often be in a shitty nappy and looking grubby while I slept peacefully in my fruitbox bed. I felt nothing but loved and cared for with Nanny. Ive got nice memories like going upstairs for a bath and Nanny would come in and turn the pilot light on for hot water then shed turn the gas up and the water would get really, really hot.