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Truth
July 7, 2000
How false complaints can destroy lives
by Leslie Watkins
A
Wellington
judge last week told a man whose life was wrecked by a false violation
complaint--from a woman who was jailed for perjury--that he deserved
substantial compensation. But the woman is too poor to pay. Les Watkins finds
this man's ordeal is typical of those falsely accused of sexual crimes.
Sam's claims he was sexually abused as a four-year-old put his father behind
bars.
Six years later he asked his mother a startling question: "Does God know
if you are telling lies?"
When she said "yes" he tearfully confessed he had lied about him
and his brother having been sodomised.
But by then their father, Roger Smythe, had served nine months of a six-year
jail sentence for paedophilia.
A retired judge decided the boy had been bulldozed into lying by a therapist.
Smythe's convictions were quashed and he was freed after serving nearly 15
months. Proving his innocence had cost his parents $60,000.
This case is typical of the hundreds documented by Casualties of Sexual
Allegations (COSA).
"Similar ordeals are suffered by a vast number of other Kiwis,"
says Gordon Waugh of COSA. "The proof is in our files but to protect the
victims--such as Roger and his family--we change their names when going
public."
Was Christchurch Civic Creche worker Peter Ellis--given 10 years in 1993 for
abusing kids--also wrongly convicted?
His supporters include former MP Rana Waitai, who has had 31 years'
experience as a police commander.
Waitai believes Ellis is the victim of "an almost unbelievably bizarre
abortion of justice."
The truth should be clearer after August, when former Chief Justice Sir
Thomas Eichelbaum reports on his investigation to Justice Minister Phil Goff.
Rude
Roger Smythe's ordeal began after Sam was caught playing "rude
games" with other boys and influencing his young brother to do the same.
"His mother took him to a therapist who worked at the Catholic Family
and Community Services," says Waugh.
"Even before she first met Sam, the therapist clearly believed his
behaviour was probably due to him having been sexually abused."
Roger, she felt, was very likely the offender.
Even though Sam persistently denied having been sexually abused, Waugh says
the social worker kept asking him about possible molestation.
"Eventually, she claimed Sam had complained about pain in his bottom and
referred him to a hospital for assessment. The findings were normal and a
doctor's report said Sam had never complained of a sore bottom.
"Later, the therapist also saw Sam's brother, Matthew, telling them both
she would guess what their father had done to them in the shower and they
could tell her if she was right.
"She quizzed Sam about a number of scenarios including him being
sodomised by his father. The boy repeatedly denied it, but finally gave in
and said `Yes, that's what Dad did'.
"She did the same with Matthew," says Waugh. The child kept
insisting nothing wrong had happened but also eventually agreed he'd been
sodomised.
Jail
Roger had been in jail nine months when both boys confessed to having lied.
"This man's marriage broke up and he now lives with a new partner,"
says Waugh.
"The two boys stay with them at weekends and holidays, and Roger says
the years apart from his sons are fading like a bad dream."
There has been no such happy ending for other wrongly accused men.
Graham, for instance, is now 73. For him, the pain is permanent. He was accused
of violating his step-daughters when they were 13 and 14.
"He had overwhelming evidence to disprove the allegations but found
himself pre-judged guilty and taken to court," says Waugh.
The older girl admitted she had made similar allegations against other men,
and the younger one later admitted the allegations were untrue.
"Graham's wife was always sure they were false," says Waugh.
"She believed her daughters resented her marriage."
Graham was found not guilty, but his defence cost him his life savings.
Legal fees also swallowed the $30,000 compensation Hamilton law student Nick Wills, 22,
eventually received from the police and the firm that sacked him after he had
been falsely accused of rape.
Police had failed to check his alibi, medical evidence was inconsistent, and
there were huge flaws in the woman's story.
Wills has described the resulting "deep personal scars"--he became
uneasy around women and felt the need to always have an alibi.
"We are rightly appalled by the ordeals of those people--male and
female--who are sexually assaulted," says Waugh. "But society needs
to recognise that hundreds of those accused are also tragic casualties."
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CAPTION: SET UP: Some children appear to have been bulldozed into "confessing"
to being sexually abused by their therapists. PHOTO: KEITH SCOTT
WRONGED? Supporters believe Ellis_pictured here with mum Lesley_is a victim.
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