RECOVERED MEMORY: Sex Case Man Cleared as Judge has 'Recall' Doubts

[The judge who withdrew this "Recovered Memory" case from the jury is Paul Carney, the same who presided over the child rape trial of Nora Wall and Pablo McCabe in 1999. He saw nothing wrong with "Recovered Memory" at that time and indeed stated that Nora Wall had carried out a 'gang rape' on Regina Walsh. He sentenced her to life imprisonment - the first time in the history of the State that such a sentence was given for rape. (Nora Wall was also the first woman to be convicted of rape.)

Either Judge Paul Carney has learned from that fiasco OR he applies different standards to lay and clerical defendants.

Incidentally I see that the first rape in this case is supposed to have occurred in 1994. That was the year that the UK Guardian made a false allegation of rape against an un-named Irish Bishop. Later that year Pat Rabbitte helped to bring down the the Fianna Fail/Labour Coalition by alleging that Cardinal Daly had sent a letter to the Attorney General to delay the extradition of Father Brendan Smyth. Perhaps Pat Rabbitte has ALSO repented and Bertie Ahern should welcome him as a coalition partner?


Rory Connor
5 June 2007]

Sex Case Man Cleared as Judge has 'Recall' Doubts
Irish Independent, 18 June 2005 by Gordon Deegan

A FATHER of three was yesterday cleared of the rape, sexual and indecent assault of his godson after it emerged that the 23-year-old only recalled the alleged abuse when he was regressed to a childhood state.

The judge withdrew the case from the jury saying he could not be sure that if the man was convicted, it would be safe as there was nothing known about the techniques used to bring about the alleged recall.

Mr Justice Paul Carney, on the fourth day of the trial at the Central Criminal Court in Ennis, said nothing was known about the professionals who did the regression and there were those in the area operating with "dangerous agendas".

He said that the area of repressed memory troubled the Supreme Court greatly and he quoted at length from a judgment by Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman on the issue.

The court heard that the alleged victim, while at college, went for counselling after the girls that he shared a house with asked him if he had been sexually abused as he was not forming any relationships in college.

Mr Justice Carney told the jury yesterday: "At counselling, he went through some form of recall therapy that brought back events from the past that were buried. This was the catalyst.

"We don't know anything about these professionals. That is the problem.
"We know that there are people in the area operating with dangerous agendas. In this case, we know nothing about the techniques used to bring about the alleged recall."

Mr Justice Carney added that evidence from the alleged victim's father and sister did not afford any corroboration of any value.

Mr Justice Carney said that if the jury had convicted the man "I would have had to ask myself am I satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that it was safe? No, I'm not."

He said: "The evidence was very short. We know nothing about the professionals who purported to bring back these repressed memories and the law requires that I withdraw the case."

In all, the 48-year-old Co Clare man was facing 31 counts relating to the alleged sexual abuse of the 23-year old graduate over a 16-year period from 1987 to 2003.

The father of three was also facing 19 separate counts of rape, dating from when his god-child was aged 12 to 21.

The first rape was alleged to have occurred in 1994 and continued until 2003.

The accused also faced six counts of indecently assaulting and six counts of sexually assaulting his god-child from the age of five to 11 years of age.

The accused had pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied from the outset in interviews with gardai that he had sexually abused his godson.

Mr Justice Carney made his judgment yesterday following lengthy legal submissions by counsel for the accused, Hugh Hartnett, on Thursday to have the case dismissed.

After the judgment, the accused was embraced by his wife and teenage daughters.