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Allegations of Abuse
in Institutions |
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SYDNEY - Two Catholic clergymen
will be extradited from Sydney tomorrow, after today exhausting nearly three
years of legal bids fighting their return to Christchurch to face historic
sex abuse charges. Brother Rodger Moloney, 71, and
Father Raymond Garchow, 59, were not in the High Court in Sydney today to
hear a three-justice bench dismiss their application for special leave to
appeal their extradition. The pair have been in custody
since October 5 when the Federal Court ordered their return to Christchurch
where police want them to stand trial on charges relating to their tenure at
the former Marylands school which catered mainly for boys with intellectual
disabilities. Moloney faces 28 charges of
abusing boys at Marylands, a school run by the St John of God order. Garchow
faces four charges. Police allege the offences were committed between 1971
and 1980. The school closed in 1985. Australian police are likely to
escort the men on their flight, with arrangements being made late this
afternoon. A member of the men's legal team said they would be flown to
Christchurch tomorrow. The case has been a saga, with the
men being arrested in Sydney just after Christmas 1993. A local court magistrate ruled
early last year that they should be extradited, but this was overturned in
the Federal Court by Justice Rodney Madgwick, who said it would be
"unjust and oppressive" to extradite them for charges which date as
far back as 1971. He said they might not receive a fair trial in New Zealand.
The Australian Commonwealth, on
behalf of New Zealand authorities, appealed to a full bench of the Federal
Court, which reinstated the local court decision. Moloney and Garchow then applied
for special leave to appeal the full bench's decision and were granted an
expedited hearing today. After all the delays -- Justice
Madgwick's decision was released a year after he heard submissions -- and
complex legal argument, today's hearing was quick and anti-climactic. The men's counsel, Tim Gain, had
20 minutes to put his case, and the Commonwealth the same amount in reply.
Chief Justice Murray Gleeson and Justices William Gummow and Dyson Heydon
then adjourned for five minutes before dismissing the application. "We are not persuaded that
the interests of justice require the granting of special leave to appeal to
this court," Chief Justice Gleeson said. Mr Gain said the federal court
judges had failed to take into account all of Justice Madgwick's reasons for
setting aside the extradition order in reaching their decision. But Wendy Abraham, for the New Zealand
authorities, said the Federal Court justices had reached the correct
decision. "It is up for the New Zealand
courts to decide how the matter is dealt with," she said. Police originally arrested three
St John of God members in Sydney, but Magistrate Hugh Dillon ruled that an
83-year-old brother should be excused from extradition. He had faced the most charges - 32
in total - but was suffering from brain atrophy and could not be expected to
receive a fair trial because of that, said Magistrate Dillon. The St John of God order could not
be reached for comment tonight. The order has paid for the men's
costs, said to be as much as A$500,000 ($577,000). |
