PRINTABLE PAGE

Legal System ‘Drags Its Heels’ Over Abuse Reforms

By Andrew Walker and Tanya Thompson
Originally published in The Scotsman, July 27, 2001

Scotland’s legal system is failing victims of child sex abuse because a raft of new measures to protect them in the courts have not been implemented, two years after they were agreed, it emerged last night.

A day after the case against six men accused of being members of a paedophile ring was abandoned because a little boy could not give evidence, the leading expert behind the research commissioned by the Lord Advocate accused the legal system of “dragging its heels” in bringing about reform.

Last night it was revealed the mother of two young children at the centre of the collapsed child abuse trial said she would sue the men she blames for a catalogue of sex offences.

The six walked free from the High Court in Edinburgh on Wednesday after the eight-year-old boy could not continue with his evidence on medical advice.

In an exclusive interview with The Scotsman, their mother said she was determined to launch a civil action in a bid to secure justice for her children. Speaking at a secret location in Edinburgh, she claimed to have the backing of a medical expert who can prove the children were sexually abused.

She said: “My children have been through hell and I am determined to see justice done. They have waited two years and now it has all come to nothing.

“One of the doctors who examined my daughter said it was the worst case of sexual abuse he had ever seen. We simply cannot let this drop.

“How do I look my children in the face and say it’s all been a waste of time?”

Joyce Plotnikoff, an expert legal researcher, and her partner Richard Woolfson, were commissioned by the then Lord Advocate, Lord Rodger, in 1995 to carry out research into how to bring about a sea change in the way child witnesses were dealt with by the legal system.

Their report, which took four years to complete and made 44 recommendations for change, was presented to Colin Boyd, the Lord Advocate, in 1999.

In November last year, a Crown official told a conference all but one of the new measures had been accepted but no timetable for reform was put in place. The Scottish executive said last night it was looking at a number of the recommendations but admitted no timescale was set.

Speaking out in the wake of the collapsed trial, Mrs Plotnikoff, who has also conducted research for a range of government departments and agencies, including the Home Office, said: “This was a wasted opportunity.

“There is a lot of complacency that we Scots have the best system in the world. This simply isn’t true as far as children are concerned. Cases will continue to fail and children will be damaged at the hands of our legal system if Scotland goes on dragging its feet on this issue. “It is very frustrating. We spoke to children and families who went through this, and who believed by doing so they could bring about change.”

The trial of the six was deserted on the 15th day of proceedings. It was alleged the eight-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister were abused between August 1992 and August 1998.

But the judge, Lord MacLean, told the jury it would not be in the best interests of the boy to continue with his evidence on medical grounds. The youngster broke down twice during questioning and a child psychologist claimed that the boy could suffer permanent mental scars if he carried on.

Following the trial’s collapse, the six accused – William Wilson, 38, of Newmilns, Ayrshire; Peter Cairns, 40, of Ochiltree, Ayrshire; David Wilson, 36, of Galston, Ayrshire; Garry Wales, 37, of Galston; Ronald McCarlie, 45, of Gatehouse-of-Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway; and Timothy Harris, 39, whose address was given as care of a solicitor’s office in Ayr – called for a public inquiry into the handling of the case in the hope of clearing their names. Last night a doctor who had examined the little girl said he had no doubt she had suffered sexual abuse. He said: “It is my belief that the girl was sexually abused and the physical evidence was extremely strong.

“In my 15 years experience it is the strongest evidence that she had been abused.

“It is one of the worst cases I have seen in a child. The girl had been subjected to penetrative sex on several occasions.”

The medical expert, who was cited as a Crown witness but who asked not to be named last night, said there was evidence of vaginal tearing and it was clear that the child had lost her virginity at a young age.

He added: “I have no problem standing in the witness box and giving evidence on what I found. I would welcome a public inquiry so that we can get to the bottom of the case.”

One of the freed men’s MSPs, Cathy Jamieson, also backed calls for a public hearing.

She said: “The inquiry ought to look at the whole handling of the case.”