Letter: Presumed guilty
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.I AM no apologist for convicted sex offenders, but Hilary Freeman's article ("When the past won't go away", Real Life, 8 August) does not confront the problem of the conflict between the rights of an adult allegedly abused in the past with the rights of any accused person to a fair trial.
We have a long-established rule that an accused person is innocent until proved guilty. This basic tenet should not be overturned in the case of child abuse. As a father, I find the concept of child abuse as abhorrent as anyone else. I have no doubt that if one of my children were to be abused, I would find it impossible to abide by arcane rules of law. However, as a society, we should question carefully whether we are prepared to abandon the principles of our justice system in respect of any type of crime. In all but one of the cases cited in the article the only evidence offered is the victim's allegation. Why should the victim lie? We don't know but, particularly where the alleged victim is now an adult with all the complex motives an adult is capable of, it is a question that must be asked.
Moreover, Ms Freeman does not contemplate the possibility that any of the alleged victims in Cheshire and Merseyside might be inventing their allegations for personal gain. However, given that many of the early allegations in Merseyside were made in response to an invitation from the police to make allegations, the media must be careful not to confuse what may turn out to be an undignified witch-hunt with real human tragedies.
TJL BORTHWICK
London SW19
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments