Karen Stewart: a shattered witness to her family’s unfolding nightmare

On an October morning in 2018 as Prime Minister Scott Morrison prepared to deliver his national apology to survivors of child sex abuse, two members of the Stewart family had their own reasons to pay close attention.

One was Tim Stewart, now widely known as a leading QAnon figure in Australia. The other was Stewart’s sister, Karen, who had very personal reasons. Little known until now is that Karen had been sexually abused when she was 14 by two young men linked to the Maroubra Baptist Church in Sydney’s eastern suburbs — the very church Morrison had attended 30 years previously.

The Maroubra Baptist Church held special significance for the Morrisons and the Stewarts. It was the place where the couples became the closest of friends. (Morrison’s wife-to-be, Jenny, and Tim Stewart’s wife-to-be, Lynelle, had been close friends since high school.)

Morrison’s speech, televised live from federal Parliament, was to become memorable for Tim and Karen Stewart — but for very different reasons.

As Inq has reported, Morrison used the word “ritual” to describe the sexual abuse of children in institutional care, as revealed by the McClelland royal commission.

For Tim this was a moment of triumph: a sign that Morrison had used a term which Tim had wanted and which held huge significance for QAnon followers who believe the world is dominated by Satan-worshipping paedophiles.

Karen Stewart found Morrison’s speech depressing because, in her view, his apparent concern for victims and survivors did not ring true with the treatment she had experienced at the hands of the Maroubra Baptist Church after she disclosed her abuse. And Morrison’s use of the word “ritual” left her cold because, apart from it being inaccurate, she had been aware it was a term which Tim had wanted Morrison to use.

‘Unsatisfactory response’

Karen Stewart’s abuse occurred in 1990. She reported the details of the assaults to police in 2011.

But the response from the Maroubra Baptist Church was in her eyes unsatisfactory. (Morrison had briefly served as an elder of the church but there is nothing to show that he was aware of Karen’s abuse or that he had a role in how the church handled it.)

“I got letters back which cast my abuse as a spiritual failing when in fact it was a criminal act,” Karen told Inq. “It showed me the church was unable to comprehend in its patriarchal way what sexual abuse meant.

“I was told that ‘I’ll be praying for your family’ and ‘God will heal your hurt’,” she said.

Karen Stewart lost her religion, which was difficult in a family which has had close ties with the Baptist Church for generations. Her grandfather was head of the Baptist Union. Her father was a minister, as is her cousin and uncle.

She also lost a brother, Tim, as his move to the extremes of the QAnon conspiracy movement drove a deep wedge in the family.

Karen and her other brother, Dave, sought help from an organisation which deals with family divisions caused by extremism. Ultimately they were moved to report Tim — and Tim’s QAnon-following son Jesse — to Australia’s national security hotline out of concern as to the actions they might take.