All the latest news items that have an impact on those who are falsely accused. You can search by entering a keyword below, or browse by choosing a subcategory from the drop-down menu.
From PressBoxUK (Sunday, August 14, 2005)
There is an underlying scientific and medical condition that is a cause for a majority of “the shaken baby syndrome” and infant death cases that are prosecuted and is being ignored by the authorities. An inexpensive, simple test could be preformed for a majority of these infant deaths that would determine if the infant died of a medical condition or from abuse. This procedure could save numerous cave givers the grief of being falsely accused, prosecuted and incarcerated. ....... (more…)
From IC Sefton (Thursday, August 04, 2005)
A PROBE into sex abuse allegations at a former Formby children's home will be heard at the High Court.
More than 60 people claim they were subjected to life-blighting ordeals at the long-closed St Vincent ' s home and its sister establishment, St Aidan's, in Widnes.
The alleged victims are suing the Nugent Care Society, which is responsible for both homes, for substantial damages.
Their solicitors say they were traumatised by their experiences at the homes between the early 1960s and the mid 1980s.
They say management "should have appreciated what was happening" at the homes and "failed to heed or act upon" young residents' complaints of widespread physical and sexual abuse.
Speaking at London's High Court, Mr Justice Holland directed that the trial of the claims should start on February 21 when the judge is expected to hear six "lead cases" on the result of which about 60 others will depend.
The judge set the trial date despite a plea from Edward Faulks QC, for the Nugent Care Society, that defence lawyers needed more time to cope with the enormous amount of evidence generated by the case.
He said 15 boxes of documents from St Vincent's alone had to be gone through and it had taken four people three months to review the "deluge" of paperwork in the case.
The trial, at which scores of witnesses are expected to be heard, including medical and social care experts, is expected to last several weeks.
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From Liverpool Echo (Monday, July 25, 2005)
MORE than 60 people who say they were subjected to sexual and physical abuse at Merseyside children's homes will have their compensation claims heard.
The alleged victims are suing the Nugent Care Society, responsible for the longclosed St Vincent's home in Formby, and its sister establishment, St Aidan's in Widnes, for substantial damages.
The case is due to go ahead at the high court early next year.
Cheadle Hulmebased solicitors Abney Garsden McDonald say the group were traumatised by their experiences at the homes between the early 1960 s and the mid-1980s.
They claim management "should have appreciated what was happening" at the homes and "failed to heed or act upon" young residents' complaints of widespread physical and sexual abuse.
In a hearing at the high court, Mr Justice Holland directed the trial of the claims should start on February 21 with six "lead cases" on the result of which about 60 others will depend.
The judge set the trial date despite a plea from Edward Faulks QC, for the Nugent Care Society, that defence lawyers needed more time to cope with the enormous amount of evidence generated by the case.
(more…)
From Sunday Times (Sunday, July 03, 2005)
DOZENS of men accused of downloading child pornography from the internet may have been wrongly prosecuted, according to expert prosecution and defence witnesses.
New evidence suggests that Operation Ore, Britain’s biggest child pornography investigation, may have prosecuted innocent men on the basis of discredited American police testimony and questionable forensic methods .....The nationwide police investigation was launched three years ago after a list of 7,200 British suspects was supplied to British police by American authorities.
The men on the list stand accused of having used their credit cards to pay for child porn through Landslide, a sex website that operated in Texas from 1996-9.
The accusations have led to 33 suicides, most recently that of Commodore David White, the commander of British forces in Gibraltar. He was found dead in his swimming pool on January 8.
Bates believes records of credit card transactions on the site are unreliable and therefore the names of alleged subscribers cannot be used as evidence.
Thomas Reedy, the man who set up the website, was investigated by the FBI in the 1990s for credit card fraud. “I am convinced that a massive fraud has been perpetrated at Landslide and an unknown number of subscriptions are fake,” said Bates....In a case that legal experts believe may prove a landmark judgment, Judge David Bentley threw out the prosecution argument. In his judgment, Bentley dismissed some police evidence as “utter nonsense”...One police officer, Peter Johnston, became so disillusioned at what he described as the Ore “witch-hunt” that he resigned from his job with Merseyside police.
In a letter to The Sunday Times, Johnston said: “I began to doubt the validity of the evidence surrounding the circumstances of the initial investigation in America . . . I found it difficult to rationalise how offenders had been identified solely on a credit card number.”
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From Sunday Times (Sunday, July 03, 2005)
DOZENS of men accused of downloading child pornography from the internet may have been wrongly prosecuted, according to expert prosecution and defence witnesses.
New evidence suggests that Operation Ore, Britain’s biggest child pornography investigation, may have prosecuted innocent men on the basis of discredited American police testimony and questionable forensic methods .....The nationwide police investigation was launched three years ago after a list of 7,200 British suspects was supplied to British police by American authorities.
The men on the list stand accused of having used their credit cards to pay for child porn through Landslide, a sex website that operated in Texas from 1996-9.
The accusations have led to 33 suicides, most recently that of Commodore David White, the commander of British forces in Gibraltar. He was found dead in his swimming pool on January 8.
Bates believes records of credit card transactions on the site are unreliable and therefore the names of alleged subscribers cannot be used as evidence.
Thomas Reedy, the man who set up the website, was investigated by the FBI in the 1990s for credit card fraud. “I am convinced that a massive fraud has been perpetrated at Landslide and an unknown number of subscriptions are fake,” said Bates....In a case that legal experts believe may prove a landmark judgment, Judge David Bentley threw out the prosecution argument. In his judgment, Bentley dismissed some police evidence as “utter nonsense”...One police officer, Peter Johnston, became so disillusioned at what he described as the Ore “witch-hunt” that he resigned from his job with Merseyside police.
In a letter to The Sunday Times, Johnston said: “I began to doubt the validity of the evidence surrounding the circumstances of the initial investigation in America . . . I found it difficult to rationalise how offenders had been identified solely on a credit card number.”
(more…)
