On the 22nd July, 2013, charges against a Galway man who pleaded guilty to raping his niece were withdrawn after the girl later admitted she was lying.
The girl, who is now aged 18, told gardaí that her mother made her file a complaint to gardaí and social services when she was about 10 years old, claiming her uncle had abused her.
The 41-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had maintained his innocence until the trial but pleaded guilty on the day because he said he was “completely terrified” of going to prison and believed if he pleaded guilty he might get a suspended sentence.
“I told her a lot of stuff to say, to blame him and what kind of things he did. It took a lot of time to get her to understand, she didn’t want to do it,” the girl’s mother eventually told gardaí.
When asked why she put her daughter up to it, she replied: “Because I’m an evil bitch.”
Hardly credible story but true ! The importance of checks and verifications in our criminal justice system are so very important. We must always be wary of the evil accuser, particularly those in our our law enforcerment and those in the counselling services.
– a legal newsbrief by Kilkenny Solicitor firm Holland Condon
