How Could You? Hall of Shame-Australia-Foster Care

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Australia, “A wife who kept secret her husband’s molestation of their foster child was cleared of any wrongdoing because of a legal loophole protecting “spousal incrimination”.

The woman, 63, who cannot be identified, was acquitted on appeal with a District Court judge saying he did so with “very considerable regret”. Acting-Judge Gordon Lerve dismissed a conviction for concealing a serious indictable offence – the husband’s indecent assault of a girl under the age of 14.

She admitted knowing the man indecently molested a child, one of “a number of foster children” in their care, and that she had kept it from authorities from January 2007 until July 2009.

The court heard one child told a DOCS worker of her foster father repeatedly going into her room, waking her and “touching me and stuff”.

The indecent assault, in which he allegedly used both hands to fondle her breasts, occurred repeatedly – so she told her foster mother about it.

But the woman refused the girl’s request for counselling and told her she must remain quiet because “everyone in this suburb” and at the girl’s school and church would know what had happened.

On appeal, her counsel Robert Steward argued his client was entitled to the common law principle of “spousal privilege”, excusing her from any obligation to inform authorities of her husband’s crime.

The crown argued parliament had “at least implicitly” sought to abolish this privilege when it amended laws to remove any possibility of wives to be prosecuted for being an accessory after the fact to a husband’s crime.

But after a “considerable degree of hesitation” Judge Lerve said he was effectively bound to uphold her appeal because the loophole had not been closed.

“In my opinion it cannot be inferred that the parliament also intended to abolish any particular common law right, in particular the spousal privilege relied upon by the appellant in this appeal,” he said.

The court heard the foster father pleaded guilty to three indecent assaults of the girl, with two more taken into consideration on sentence.

Judge Lerve said the victims of the man had every right to feel disappointed.

“They have been let down very badly by those who were supposed to nurture, care for and protect them,” he said.

“They have now been let down by the legal system, which … cannot effectively denounce the appalling conduct of the appellant.”

He said the loophole was likely due to legislative oversight and ordered the laws be urgently reviewed.

Wife ‘hid’ child abuse, but cleared in court
[The Daily Telegraph 10/5/11 by Lisa Davies]

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