A victim of child sexual abuse has said being cross-examined during the accused man’s trial felt “like being abused all over again”.
William Edgill, who has waived his right to anonymity, said he knew court would be difficult, but “in my wildest dreams I had no idea that I would be treated in such a hostile manner under cross-examination”.
Having seen his abuser, Leon Elam Wolff (formerly known as Derrick Davis), sentenced for the crimes committed against him between July 1976 and October 1980, Mr Edgill said he “probably” would be willing to repeat the court process, knowing what he knows now of the system.
“But I think I am particularly strong. I would be very reluctant to recommend anybody to go forward,” he told The Irish Times.
In a victim-impact statement to the court, Mr Edgill said he relived every moment of the crimes in the witness box and “will never forget” the moment the defence barrister “speculated” about his sexuality and getting pleasure from the abuse at 12 years old. He had high praise for the gardaí and prosecuting team, who he said worked diligently to see he got justice.
Wolff, of Agharue, Bilboa, Co Carlow, was 22 when he began abusing Mr Edgill, who is 10 years his junior. He denied the charges, but last May a jury found the now-70-year-old guilty on all 20 counts of indecent assault and all 18 counts of gross indecency.
Mr Edgill said he gave full access to his most personal counselling records and other notes, but asked for specific medical information to be kept private. This information was disclosed by Wolff’s senior counsel while he was cross-examining Mr Edgill.
Sentencing Wolff last June to 2½ years in prison, with a further year suspended, Judge Keenan Johnson said he was prepared to accept the disclosure of this sensitive medical information was a “mistake” on the part of a “very capable and fair minded” lawyer.
There was “no deliberate intention” to embarrass the victim, but it was clear the lawyer’s judgment was “clouded by his desire to represent and protect his client’s interests”, said Judge Johnson during his sentencing ruling.
The barrister immediately recognised his error and apologised, but it was “too little too late at that stage because the damage was done”, the judge added.
“What happened in this case should not have happened … Thankfully the victim has proved himself to be a person of considerable resilience and strength and accordingly has been able to cope with the disclosure,” the judge said.
The use of medical information and counselling notes are “part and parcel of the criminal trial process” so the defence can test the credibility of a complainant’s evidence, the judge said. This clearly puts considerable pressure on victims and can lead to their retraumatisation, he added.
Judge Johnson said there must be very careful monitoring of how sensitive notes are deployed during cross-examination to ensure a victim’s rights and interests are not compromised.
“Under no circumstances can they be used to embarrass the complainant or needlessly breach his right to privacy … It is to be hoped that this case might reaffirm and highlight how important it is that medical notes and counselling notes from complainants are treated and handled in a manner that not only protects the complainant but also ensures that the accused’s right to defend himself is vindicated.”
He noted that Mr Edgill described finding giving evidence at trial “extremely distressing” and never imagined he would have to undergo such “rigorous” cross-examination “where it was put to him that his recollection of events were affected by his sexual orientation”.
“He found it difficult to understand the proposition put to him by the defence that he enjoyed the abuse. This did seem to be an extraordinary assertion given that the accused was denying any abuse took place,” Judge Johnson said.
The judge said Wolff, a separated father-of-three, perpetrated the abuse for sexual gratification and gave “no thought whatsoever” to the adverse consequences for the victim, who was a vulnerable boy. Wolff led the victim to believe what was happening to him was normal and told him to keep it secret, Judge Johnson said.
He said Mr Edgill has shown “remarkable resilience, bravery and fortitude to make the complaint and to see it through the criminal process”.
In his victim-impact statement, Mr Edgill said he is still trying to come to terms with the sexual abuse, which has “robbed so much” from him. “As a child I was left feeling alone, scared, verbally anxious and in physical pain from being raped. I had nightmares and still do to this day.”
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