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Sunday Star Times
March 3, 2002
Letters to the Editor: Abuse Worries
(Name Supplied to Sunday Star Times)
North Shore
Rosemary
McLeod's article "The real abuse is of the system" (February 24)
rang bells. Seven years ago I became the first man in New Zealand acquitted of sexual
abuse charges based entirely on "memories" recovered by three of my
six daughters. One of them listed detailed memories of sexual abuse in her
cot at age one.
After a week's trial and $124,000 in legal costs, plus a year of great
stress, the jury decided not to accept their memories as valid evidence. In
that, they followed the lead of American judge William Groff, who refused to
admit recovered memories as evidence, citing memories recovered of impossible
events, such as abduction by aliens.
However, our main training institutions in psychology are still headed by
believers in recovered memories who continue to make "victims" of
gullible women and bring heartache to both accused and accusers.
ACC has caused grievous harm by pouring very large sums of money at the
"victims" and the counsellors, without question. ACC has a lot to
answer for and seems to have learned nothing.
Our justice system causes great injustice by allowing prosecutions to proceed
regarding sexual allegations where there is no evidence but the word of the
accuser. Juries often get it wrong, as subsequent DNA evidence has often
proved recently.
The crown does its best to avoid financial responsibility in these cases.
Obtaining costs is made as difficult as possible.
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