Concern at Low Rate of Convictions for Clerical Abuse Cases

By Allison Bray
Irish Independent
May 21, 2013

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/concern-at-low-rate-of-convictions-for-clerical-abuse-cases-29281949.html

[annual report]

ONLY a fraction of more than 700 abuse allegations against 320 priests have resulted in convictions since 1975, according to the Catholic Church's independent child protection watchdog.

Ian Elliott, who is stepping down next month as head of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI), said the low conviction rate was a cause for concern.

"The number of convictions from both dioceses and religious orders for serious offences against children is low," he said in the annual report released yesterday.

Only 26 prosecutions have emerged from 723 allegations against 320 priests since 1975, he said.

"What's striking is that credible allegations against named priests have had a very low batting average," he told the Irish Independent. He estimated that only about 8pc of cases result in prosecutions.

However, he said the same low conviction rate was also a problem for most adult sex crimes, including rape and sexual assault.

CREDIBILITY

The reasons for the poor conviction rate in both adult and child sex abuse cases are similar: the lapse of time since the alleged incident, lack of forensic or collaborating evidence and reliance on the credibility of the victim versus the accused.

He also revealed that three new allegations of clerical abuse taking place since 2000 – including one alleged to have taken place as recently as last year – have been reported to the watchdog and gardai.

They are among 242 "allegations, concerns and suspicions of abuse" reported to the NBSCCCI between April 1, 2012, and March 31 this year.

While most of the allegations concern alleged abuse taking place between the 1940s and 1990s, the largest number of allegations relate to incidents taking place in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

However, the most recent allegations "would underline the continued need for vigilance, good safeguarding practice and prompt action when the allegation or concern is notified to the church authority," he said.

Although all of the allegations have been forwarded to the gardai, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Health Service Executive (HSE) where warranted, none of the cases reported to the NBSCCCI in the past 12 months have proceeded through the courts or resulted in prosecutions, he added.