20 March 2023
Due to circumstances outside of my control, the edition of the newsletter in which Part 1 was published had to be removed from MailChimp - there were issues with a different article in that edition. If you were unable to read/access Part 1, send us an email (at newsletter@skeptics.nz) and we'll either send you a copy or find an alternative format to share it.
1 November 1994
In a landmark case on September 30, a 59-year-old man, Bill1, was acquitted by a jury in the Auckland High Court on charges of sexually abusing three of his daughters about 20 years ago. The complainants alleged sodomy and rape, and indecent acts such as the insertion of a coat hanger in the vagina causing bleeding and loss of consciousness. The women claimed they had suppressed the memories which had only resurfaced in later life. All three daughters had attended therapy and made claims for damages from the ACC before they laid the criminal charges against their father. Two of the daughters reported memories of events happening in their cots when aged one year old or less. Bill was defended by Mr Peter Williams, QC, who dismissed evidence based on "recovered memories" as dangerous and fallacious.