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A senior Tasmanian police officer who groomed and abused boys for more than 30 years before taking his own life hid behind his status as a senior officer.

Police officer and serial pedophile Paul Reynolds groomed at least 52 boys and sexually abused an unknown number of victim-survivors across 30 years until his life ended in 2018.

Reynolds would groom boys with increasingly sexual conversation and “sports massages”. In later years he turned to social media after initially meeting his victims in person.

Reynolds laid a foundation of trust with boys and their guardians so that he could spend time with the boys. Often the victim only had one parent in their lives and Reynolds accessed the boys by establishing himself as a father-figure.

Victim-survivors reported being sexually abused from 1988, and the latest reported being abused in 2018.

At the time of his death in 2018, Reynolds was being internally investigated by Tasmania Police Professional Standards for child abuse– but that the investigation trailed off once he died by suicide.

Higher police in the state already knew that at the time Reynolds died that he was being investigated, yet the long-time officer was still given a state funeral.

The office of former Tasmanian police minister Michael Ferguson received a police briefing note warning of child sex allegations against a senior officer before the force held a police funeral and full guard of honour for him.

Hundreds of police formed a guard of honour at Senior Sergeant Paul Reynolds' funeral. The commissioner of police attended and provided an official address on behalf of all Tasmania Police members.

Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff blasted police minister for "chose to do nothing".

"How could a police minister just sit idly by while a paedophile received a full-honours police funeral knowing the devastating harm it would cause to victim-survivors to see their abuser celebrated?" quenstioned Rosalie.

Then police minister Michael Ferguson didn't lose his job, he was later promoted into Deputy Premier of Tasmania.