Family Court Survey, Part 4: Criminal Actions and the Destruction of Evidence

by Dee McLachlan

We all understand the principle that the children of financially successful parents benefit enormously in so many ways. So as I write this today (24 November, 2018), there are now 73 responders — seven spent more than $351,000, and four more than $750,000 trying to protect their child/children. 31 lost their homes. It does not escape me that these children are being disadvantaged by the court system in so many ways.

In Part 1, “Would You Throw Away $750,000 for a False Allegation?“, I covered the logical analysis of the data, and the sheer cost of trying to protect one’s child vs using coaching to concoct a false claim. And in Part 2, “A Numbers Game — The Believers vs Non-Believers and the Spineless,” we discovered how many people believed vs those that didn’t; and how many believed — yet were blocked from helping. What was surprising was that in half the cases, the child told 8 or more people. 

Well, how many children were parents trying to protect? To my question, “How many children are involved in the family court issue,” most (45%) answered: one child.

In Part 3 I discussed Threats, and now I move to Part 4. First I show the response about DISREGARDING EVIDENCE, and then about the destruction of it.

Disregarding Evidence

To my question, “Do you believe crucial evidence of abuse or injury was disregarded in your case?”

97% of responders say that crucial evidence was disregarded. (Please note the word “crucial”.)

So, “What kind of evidence was DISREGARDED by Police, CPS or the Family Court, etc?” [multiple choice]

The results are as follows:

• (14) video evidence
• (15) audio evidence
• (20) photographic evidence
• (23) medical reports
• (1) blood evidence, DNA
• (35) child disclosures reported to me [parent]
• (33) child disclosures to police, CPS
• (26) psychology, psychiatric reports
• (8) any expert
• (27) reports of serious behavioural problems
• (9) reports that child ran away from home, or police
• (6) other

These results are consistent with what we discovered in Parts 1 and 2, that the courts, generally, did not believe the child. Logic dictates that if the court DISREGARDS child disclosures to parents and police, then what is left?

I found this at the Federal Register of Legislation in relation to Child’s Evidence:

165A  Warnings in relation to children’s evidence (1), states,  A judge in any proceeding in which evidence is given by a child before a jury must not do any of the following:

(a)  warn the jury, or suggest to the jury, that children as a class are unreliable witnesses; (b)  warn the jury, or suggest to the jury, that the evidence of children as a class is inherently less credible or reliable, or requires more careful scrutiny, than the evidence of adults;

[Note: we are seldom involved with juries in these cases, but wouldn’t the judges have to apply those rules to themselves?]

It is disturbing that video, audio and photographic evidence was disregarded. In Darlene’s case, she told me how the Judge confirmed to her that blood was just paint splatter. How did he do his discovery? He asked the perpetrator.

To my question, “Which of these people / departments DISREGARDED evidence of abuse/injury?“, this was the result at a glance.

There are two aspects to this. 1) Evidence was disregarded by police, CPS, so it was never presented in the court; and 2) It was disregarded in the court.

The answers indicate that Judges disregarded evidence the most: 53 times.  (Considering the 61 responses, it is over 80%.)

What are Independent Child Lawyers (48 strikes) doing disregarding evidence? As one advocate pointed out to me: they are being trained this way. I was forwarded some recordings of a ‘training workshop’, where the trainer constantly used outdated thinking and terminology (e.g. “alienation”). On being asked: “Are there times when wrong decisions are made?” The reply: “We get it wrong all the time.”

Court Experts (41) disregarded evidence, and the police (40). We have discussed in Part 3 how the police claim they can no longer investigate as it has become a Family Court matter.

The personnel from Child Protective Services (38), Social workers, supervised visit staff (25), and Court Reporters, pre-court services (40). There is obviously an ingrained culture where staff and personnel believe disregarding evidence of abuse or injury is “permissible”.

It is not.

Evidence Destroyed

I must thank the one advocate that advised me on constructing the Survey to separate the “disregarded” and “destroying” of evidence.

I heard from one account (before the survey), that a police officer threw all the documents (evidence) into the trash bin in front of the protective parent — so I expected that maybe 10% of cases might reflect that evidence was destroyed.

I had not anticipated that about 50% of the responders would say Yes to, “Was evidence DESTROYED?” (That is 34 responders.)

“What evidence was DESTROYED, trashed, or was ordered to be destroyed?”

The results are as follows:

• (5) video evidence
• (8) audio evidence
• (9) photographic evidence
• (6) medical reports
• (1) blood evidence, DNA etc
• (11) child disclosures reported to me [parent]
• (10) child disclosures to police, CPS etc
• (5) psychology, psychiatric reports etc
• (1) Any expert
• (10) reports of serious behavioural problems, etc
• (1) reports that child ran away from home, or police
• (4) other

This one question could be an entire Survey on its own. It is difficult in this Survey to gauge how relevant any piece was to the case. But one piece of evidence can drastically change the outcome in criminal cases.

Years ago, a young girl had read one of Amanda Gearing’s article, and called her, leaving a desperate message on her answering machine. But, as Amanda wrote:

“The mother was ordered by the court not to allow her child to speak to anyone who believed her allegations of sexual assault: her family doctor, a child psychologist and even the child protection organisation Bravehearts.”

So Who Are The Destroyers?

I was emailed separately by one of the responders, stating that the Judge ordered an injunction to have the evidence of the child’s disclosures destroyed. So, to the question, “Did the Judge destroy evidence, or order that evidence be destroyed?“,

16 people said YES.

When I tell friends or associates, that judges ordered evidence to be destroyed, they find it difficult to believe.

Perhaps it is permissible under certain circumstances (e.g., hearsay). I’m sure if the Judge believes, as Dr Rikard Bell does, that most children’s claims of sexual abuse are unfounded, then he or she might order the evidence to be destroyed.

But under family Law proceedings, (at the Australian Law Reform Commission site), it states that,

“20.54 The Family Law Act contains a number of important evidentiary provisions. Most significantly, s 100A provides that evidence of a representation made by a child about a matter that is relevant to the welfare of the child or another child is not inadmissible solely because of the law against hearsay.”

See Mary Maxwell’s article on Family Law.

Crimes Committed Against Children

I had a reason for separating the Judge from the others. My untrained legal mind guesses that it would be illegal for ANYONE ELSE to destroy evidence. To, “Which of these people / departments DESTROYED evidence of abuse?”,  responders identified these offenders:

• (2) Family
• (2) Doctor, medical personnel
• (17) Police
• (1) Your psychologist/psychiatrist
• (10) Social workers, supervised visit personnel
• (10) Child Protection Services,
• (13) ICL – Independent child lawyers
• (9) Court reporters, pre-court services
• (7) Court appt psychiatrist
• (10) Court appt Experts
• (17) Other

The very people who should be upholding the laws of evidence, are the ones breaking them.

I know from Darlene’s case, that the police came to retrieve her daughters blood-stained panties. The collection of the evidence was suspiciously not documented, and the garment was returned to her soon after — WASHED.

Black’s Law Dictionary generally defines spoliation as intentional or negligent withholding, altering or destroying of evidence relevant to a legal proceeding.  And it seems that social workers, CPS, court reporters, and the court appointed experts — all seem to think they can get away with breaking the law, and by doing so, act AGAINST the child. Maybe they should be reminded of the CRIMES ACT 1914 – SECT 39:

Destroying evidence: (1)  A person commits an offence if:

(a)  the person knows that a book, document or thing of any kind is, or may be, required in evidence in a judicial proceeding; and (b)  the person: (i)  destroys the book, document or thing; or (ii)  renders the book, document or thing illegible, undecipherable or incapable of identification; and (c)  the person does so with the intention of preventing the book, document or thing from being used in evidence…

Penalty:  Imprisonment for 5 years.

People need to be prosecuted.

To, “Do you have physical proof (documents, injunctions, emails etc) of the deliberate destruction of evidence?” 

20 responded YES.

To a written response to my question, “Anyone that you believe OBSTRUCTED JUSTICE for your child?”, the first response I read:

“All of them”

Criminal action after criminal action is described.

To, “Who do you believe CHANGED, or FALSIFIED REPORTS — or COMMITTED PURGERY”?

The independent child lawyers get the prize (26), with Child Protective Services (24), and Court reporters (24) as runners up.

It seems everyone is quite happy to modify, change and/or falsify documents. I have heard many accounts anecdotally how wording was changed — even from the Judge (20).

One of the comments in the Survey described in detail how wording was changed, so that the grandmother was fraudulently implicated, to cleverly deflect attention from the perpetrator.

The Abandoned Principal

It is clear reading through all the accounts that the court and those “supporting” the system have ABANDONED the child, and their own requirements: “When a court makes a parenting order, the Family Law Act requires it to regard the best interests of the child as the most important consideration.”

This is just NOT happening.

There are so many cases where the child has been removed from the protective parent.

I have been forwarded a note that was secretly passed to a mother during supervised contact, begging to be able to come home.

There are no words to describe what the court has done.

As Charles Pragnall wrote in a brilliant comment:

“…children should never have continued to be included among the ‘assets’ of the parties, as there are human and humane elements that have to be considered and which do not apply to inanimate objects such as houses, cars, bank accounts, superannuation etc and that is the fundamental flaw in the Family Law. Decisions regarding children require far wider considerations, and should not be merely seen under the rights of ‘dual ownership’ and would be better determined under an Administrative Tribunal system where children would be treated as a separate party to the proceedings and have independent legal representation to protect their rights…“

Can these protective parents sue these individuals and organisations for damages? Can these parents start proceedings against a multitude of law breakers? I hope so, and I believe some people are actively proceeding along that path.

Some written responses:

“I will now escalate my police complaint and demand action for the damage the police contributed to the Family Court trial with the trauma and loss that resulted from intentional judicial miscarriage of justice…”

“I hold the Queensland Police responsible for their part in my family’s loss and grief…”

“This whole system is absolutely disgusting and ruining our beautiful kids lives. My kids have no faith in police or the court system…”

“My kids have no faith in police or the court system…”  Well, that sums it all up really. How can anyone have faith in the “destroyers of evidence”?

A Personal Note – The Spider’s Web

The results of this survey are far more shocking than I could ever had imagined.

Good people entering the Family Court system are dragged into a heartless web designed to entrap and deplete the person’s financial resources. Once caught, there is almost no extrication.

The children are the victims — twice over. They are NOT believed, and often their disclosures of sexual abuse are modified to suit the system — a system seemingly devoid of prosecution, and where the police have backed off with their hands in the air.

The protective mother (or father) who has reported the abuse is, by default, seen as the new abuser — a more dangerous one — the “emotional abuser”. They are deemed either mentality unstable, highly anxious, or an alienation threat to the other parent. They therefore must be separated from their young at all costs — and supervision is required (until that protective parent can mentally “acclimatize”).  The child is of course safer in a strange foster home, or with the person they identified as their abuser. Really?

If the protective parent discloses further abuse, then the child could be removed altogether. (It reminds me of the children that were sent to Van Diemen’s Land in the 1800s.) There is just no way for a child to get justice, and truth or discovery has no place here.

The system, by twisting the protective parent into an abuser, protects the pedophile’s behaviour. Maybe incestuous Child Sexual Abuse is no longer considered to be a crime in Australia — and we just haven’t been told?

And those representing Child Protective Services and charged with protecting children seem to believe that disregarding evidence is the norm, and that modifying a report or destroying evidence of the child’s (criminal) claim is just part of the job. But they are dead wrong.

Destroying or falsifying evidence in a legal proceeding is a CRIME — punishable by up to 5 years jail.