Prosecutors Drop Charges against Scientologist

By Jamelle Wells
ABC Ilawarra
April 24, 2012

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-24/nsw-drops-charges-against-top-scientologist/3970176/?site=illawarra

The NSW Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has withdrawn charges of perverting the course of justice against a senior member of the Church of Scientology.

In allegations first raised on ABC's Lateline program in 2010, prominent Scientologist Jan Eastgate was accused of telling an 11-year-old girl to lie to police about the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her step-father.

In 2011 she was charged with perverting the course of justice, but the NSW DPP now says there is not enough evidence for a reasonable prospect of conviction.

Carmen Rainer, who made the initial allegations, has told Lateline the office of the DPP told her they charged Ms Eastgate with a crime that did not exist at the time of the alleged offences.

Ms Rainer was raised in a Scientology family. Between the age of eight and 11, she was abused by her step-father Robert Alexander Kerr.

In allegations first aired on Lateline, Ms Rainer said that in 1985 Ms Eastgate told her to lie to police and community service workers about the sexual abuse.

"'Just say no,' she just kept repeating that. 'You remember that you can't tell them. So don't say yes, because otherwise you will be taken away from your parents and you will never see your family again,' because DOCS will take me and my brother away from my mum, and that I needed to just say no," Ms Rainer said.

"I'm worried that now people are going to think that it's OK to tell children to lie to the police. That people can get away with sexual abuse... sexually abusing children."

Her allegations were backed by her mother, Phoebe Rainer.

"She came with us to the interview and she basically told me what to say, and Carmen what to say, and she also told Carmen to lie to the police, and I lied to the police as well because of that," Phoebe said.

Ms Eastgate is the international head of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights - an organisation founded by the Church of Scientology to campaign against psychiatry. She has refused to talk to Lateline. She has consistently denied Carmen Rainer's allegations, describing them as "egregiously false". She says she will continue her work with the CCHR.

'Extraordinary turn of events'

In 2010, Senator Nick Xenophon went to the police station with Carmen Rainer to make a statement about this matter.

"This is just an extraordinary turn of events. The matters are before the courts for a number of months, a second set of charges are laid just a few weeks ago, and then suddenly it's all abandoned," Senator Xenophon said.

"Carmen Rainer deserves an explanation from the DPP in relation to this, because she has been understandably left devastated by what has occurred."

The office of the DPP would not give specific reasons as to why the charges were withdrawn.

Carmen Rainer says she was told by a DPP lawyer there was not a law against perverting the course of justice in 1985.

"The reason that she gave me was that ... the charges they'd given her are the wrong charges, and that was because they've charged her with the new law instead of the old law. It happened in 1985, the new law came in in 1990," she said.

Carmen Rainer also said the DPP's office told her that it did not help her case that the NSW Police could not find the officers who took her original statement.

Ms Eastgate says she has always maintained her innocence.

"I have always maintained my innocence, having had an exemplary career for more than 30 years dedicated to serving the community and families as well as championing human rights," she said in a statement.

"I have worked overseas since 1993. When I heard of the allegations that had been made against me, I voluntarily returned to Australia to clear my good name.

"This outcome means I can concentrate on my work to assist people in need of help both in Australia and overseas through the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a group that investigates psychiatric-pharmaceutical conflicts of interest and human rights abuse."