Suffering of falsely accused abuse cases

Sunday March 13th 2005

Sir - In the harrowing saga of abuse in Ireland's industrial school system, we should remember that there are two sets of victims. The first are those innocent men and women who as children were physically or sexually abused in these institutions.

Their stories have been told in graphic and horrific detail in TV documentaries and hard-hitting newspaper reports over the past decade. Many have been compensated for their ordeals - though no amount of money can diminish the unfathomable, soul-destroying cruelty inflicted on them.

The second set of victims I refer to has, however, received, far less media publicity or public sympathy. These are the people who have been falsely accused.

The Residential Institutions Redress Board (RIRB) admits to having encountered a number of false claims for compensation that were eliminated at an early stage. And there have been cases of wrongly accused alleged abusers being either acquitted in court or having their convictions overturned.

But what of the very distinct possibility that at least a few fraudsters have succeeded in brazening their way into instant wealth by fabricating allegations of abuse?

I know of instances where Christian Brothers who were cleared of all abuse charges levelled against them had to endure the horror, shame, and humiliation of seeing their accusers afterwards receive compensation from the Redress Board, the obvious implication being that the Brothers must have been guilty of something if the Board chose to believe their accusers even though the courts had rejected the allegations.

In one case, a former resident of an Industrial School whose case against three brothers was rejected by the High Court subsequently received a large financial award from the Redress Board, despite the fact that two of the Brothers cleared in the High Court case had died before the Board hearing and the third remains steadfast in his denial of the charges, has repeatedly asserted his innocence, and has never in his life been convicted in a court of law of any offence, let alone the atrocious crime of sexual abuse.

One cannot even begin to imagine the hell experienced by victims of false abuse allegations. Because they have been formally, and publicly, accused of this most detestable of crimes, and never formally exonerated, their suffering, like that of abuse victims themselves, may go on for years, or decades.

They are considered Guilty until Proven Innocent, a perversion of the time-honoured cornerstone of our legal system that presumes innocence until proven guilty.

Some commit suicide. All go through the rest of their days as marked men and women, traumatised and scarred forever. While not in any way seeking to detract from the plight of real abuse victims, I would question a situation where literally anyone who has ever attended an Industrial School can make an allegation of abuse to the Redress Board and apply for compensation.

We may never learn just how many false accusers have succeeded in getting away with their fraud and deception.

False accusers are not only to be feared by those they accuse: They undermine and besmirch the cause of people who have endured real abuse in the schools, convents, and institutions.

John Fitzgerald,
Lr Coyne Street,
Callan,
Co Kilkenny

? Irish Independent