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	Priest Facing Sex Charges Wants to See Notes By Zelda Venter IOL September 22, 2009 http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20090922035715125C549201 A Roman Catholic priest facing charges relating to four young boys who were allegedly sexually molested at a church communion weekend camp last year turned to the Pretoria High Court yesterday in a bid to obtain notes from the Teddy Bear Clinic pertaining to its interviews with the alleged victims. The priest, who may not be named as he has not pleaded to the charges, is a German national who came to work at a church in South Africa. He will go on trial from November 9 to 13 in the Brits Regional Court. He asked the high court to compel officials of the Teddy Bear Clinic, as well as the Director of Public Prosecutions, to furnish him with details pertaining to the interviews held with the boys, whose ages range between nine and 10. He denies the charges against him and claimed his conduct had been "completely misconstrued". In preparing for the trial, the boys who were allegedly molested gave statements to the police, and were also interviewed by an official from the Teddy Bear Clinic. The official, who took notes at the time, refused to hand over her notes to the accused. The objection raised in this regard was that the notes were privileged. Counsel for the priest said the prosecuting authority should have advised the clinic "to do what the law required of them" by handing over the notes. The clinic's policy document, however, states that notes taken during the interview with a child victim are not for public or private perusal. They are protected and will not be released under any circumstances. The priest's advocate argued that the issue of privilege was within the domain of the court and was not a matter on which professional bodies or institutions could be expected to pronounce. The prosecution authority, in opposing the application, stated that the priest was not entitled to any of the information. The matter was postponed to a date yet to be determined.
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