Not Guilty of Rape - Verdict Anniversary
Today is the first anniversary of the day a Melbourne jury foreman declared my brother "Not Guilty".
It's a day to reflect on the long and painful journey he has survived since November 2002, when an ex- scout made false allegations of rape.
It's a time to reflect on a series of events that no innocent Australian should have to endure.
My brother was unaware of these allegations until two cars of armed police raided his home looking for child pornography in September 2003.
They found none.
The police failed to advise the courts of this raid.
They built a case on the basis of unreliable witness statements.
They failed to assess the credibility of their key witnesses.
At a committal hearing in Sale in July 2004, a magistrate sent the case to trial.
The first mis-trial and the first completed trial were held in Bairnsdale in April 2005.
My brother was convicted on some charges.
There was a hung jury on the remaining charges.
After almost a year in prison, the Melbourne Appellate Court judges unanimously overturned the verdicts and ordered a new trial.
The second completed trial took place in Morwell in April 2005.
On the eve of the Anzac day holiday, the jury foreman announced "Guilty" verdicts to each of the charges.
My brother was sent to prison for another year, before the Melbourne Appellate court again unanimously overturned the verdicts and ordered a new trial.
The second mis-trial occurred in Sale in November 2009.
At the third completed trial in Melbourne in 2010, the Melbourne jury acquitted my brother of all charges arising from the ex-scout's allegations.
The majority of the serious charges were alleged to have occurred at a scout camp held at Red Bluff near Loch Sport on the Labour Day week-end of 1988.
The ex-scout confirmed the dates by referring to his passport as he attended the camp shortly before leaving Australia for the first time for a school trip to the US and Canada.
The ex-scout claimed the camp was attended by two scout leaders, one parent assistant and eight scouts.
He alleged that my brother took him away from this group on three occasions, once on the Friday night, once on the Saturday night and once on the Sunday night, and raped him on each occasion.
It's curious that neither of the other adults, nor any of the remaining seven scouts noticed that two persons were missing from the group on three separate occasions.
None of these people noticed that a scout was sore or distressed.
The only independent evidence presented to the courts was the bound, hand-written, minute book of the local scout group.
It recorded in numerous places that my brother would be leaving the scouting movement at the end of 1987.
It stated the names of the scout leaders in 1988.
My brother was not one of the two leaders.
Despite this objective evidence supporting my brother's claim that he did not attend the 1988 Labour Day week-end scout camp, he was convicted of raping the scout three times at that camp.
The case is frightening.
Any person can bring false allegations of rape against another other at any time.
An innocent person can be convicted and imprisoned.
That innocent person could be you.
It's a day to reflect on the long and painful journey he has survived since November 2002, when an ex- scout made false allegations of rape.
It's a time to reflect on a series of events that no innocent Australian should have to endure.
My brother was unaware of these allegations until two cars of armed police raided his home looking for child pornography in September 2003.
They found none.
The police failed to advise the courts of this raid.
They built a case on the basis of unreliable witness statements.
They failed to assess the credibility of their key witnesses.
At a committal hearing in Sale in July 2004, a magistrate sent the case to trial.
The first mis-trial and the first completed trial were held in Bairnsdale in April 2005.
My brother was convicted on some charges.
There was a hung jury on the remaining charges.
After almost a year in prison, the Melbourne Appellate Court judges unanimously overturned the verdicts and ordered a new trial.
The second completed trial took place in Morwell in April 2005.
On the eve of the Anzac day holiday, the jury foreman announced "Guilty" verdicts to each of the charges.
My brother was sent to prison for another year, before the Melbourne Appellate court again unanimously overturned the verdicts and ordered a new trial.
The second mis-trial occurred in Sale in November 2009.
At the third completed trial in Melbourne in 2010, the Melbourne jury acquitted my brother of all charges arising from the ex-scout's allegations.
The majority of the serious charges were alleged to have occurred at a scout camp held at Red Bluff near Loch Sport on the Labour Day week-end of 1988.
The ex-scout confirmed the dates by referring to his passport as he attended the camp shortly before leaving Australia for the first time for a school trip to the US and Canada.
The ex-scout claimed the camp was attended by two scout leaders, one parent assistant and eight scouts.
He alleged that my brother took him away from this group on three occasions, once on the Friday night, once on the Saturday night and once on the Sunday night, and raped him on each occasion.
It's curious that neither of the other adults, nor any of the remaining seven scouts noticed that two persons were missing from the group on three separate occasions.
None of these people noticed that a scout was sore or distressed.
The only independent evidence presented to the courts was the bound, hand-written, minute book of the local scout group.
It recorded in numerous places that my brother would be leaving the scouting movement at the end of 1987.
It stated the names of the scout leaders in 1988.
My brother was not one of the two leaders.
Despite this objective evidence supporting my brother's claim that he did not attend the 1988 Labour Day week-end scout camp, he was convicted of raping the scout three times at that camp.
The case is frightening.
Any person can bring false allegations of rape against another other at any time.
An innocent person can be convicted and imprisoned.
That innocent person could be you.
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