I have always had reservations about claims of rape or sexual abuse that are alleged to have occurred many years in the past. How many of us can substantiate our whereabouts 35 days ago let alone 35 years in the past, our memories are just not that good. In the end in even with forensic evidence of intercourse it comes down to “he said she said”; a decision based upon the relative veracity of the accused and the plaintiff. This case has been pursued through the civil courts and the penalty for Clark is only a monetary one. I have always instinctively believed that Geoff Clark was a thug, a brutal bully who’s position in the now defunct ATSIC was an affront to the decent men and women who have sought to better the lives of indigenous Australians.
The jury decided that on the balance of probabilities, the teenage Ms Stingel was raped by Mr Clark in Warrnambool’s municipal gardens in late March 1971 and again in early April 1971 at Lady Bay beach.
Ms Stingel, now 51, had asked the jury not to award a large financial sum, and said yesterday: “I have power. I’ve got myself back and I’ve got my life back.”
A furious Mr Clark, on the other hand, let rip at what he called “an injustice” and “a victory for nobody”.
Ms Stingel had told the court Mr Clark was the “leader of the pack” in the gang rapes, and said that even as a young man he wielded a frightening power in Warrnambool.
“That’s something I realised a few years ago when I first started this – that he still had control over me, and now I’ve taken it back,” she said.
“You have no idea how hard it is” to bring such a case, Ms Stingel said on the steps of court. “Every single day since 2002 I have thought about quitting. But I just thought, I couldn’t stop.”
She urged other victims of childhood sexual assault to gain strength from the verdict. “Truth’s out, the reality’s out,” she said. “There’s a lot of people out there who have been waiting on this outcome … they can do it, they’ve got power. (Source)”
For far too long the well intentioned “progressives ‘ have been far to willing to ignore gross mismanagement, dishonesty, and the abuse of women and children, if the perpetrators are members of the indigenous hierarchy; rape a thirteen year old girl? Oh she is your promised traditional bride? Sorry to have bothered you…
Although this is a civil trial which demanded a much lower standard of proof (on the balance of probabilities, rather than beyond reasonable doubt) the verdict will give hope to all of those women who have been violated by cowardly thugs like Geoff Clark.
Filed under: Indigenous Issues, Law
