Tag Archives: Would You Believe?

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From top: B ill Keneally; From left: Paul Walsh, human rights lawyer Darragh Mackin, Colin Power anod Jason Clancy

This morning.

Further to last night’s Would You Believe? documentary, called Beyond Redemption?,  presented by Mike Peelo, about the Christian-based Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) programme in Canada, and now Ireland, in which sex offenders receive support from an ‘inner circle’ of volunteers – to help them reintegrate into society after prison.

On South East Radio, Paul Walsh, who was one of the boys abused by convicted and jailed paedophile Bill Kenneally, spoke to broadcaster Alan Corcoran.

Readers will recall how the victims of Kenneally are calling for a Commission of Investigation into who knew about the abuse and who “turned a blind eye” as they say senior gardaí, members of Fianna Fáil, the South Eastern Health Board and the Catholic Church all knew Kenneally was abusing boys but failed to stop him.

In 1987, Kenneally admitted to gardaí that he was handcuffing, blind-folding and sexually abusing boys, but he was let walk free. He was convicted earlier this year after victim Jason Clancy came forward in 2012.

From this morning’s interview on South East Radio…

Alan Corcoran: “What did you make of it, Paul?”

Paul Walsh: “Well, I sat down and tried to watch it with an open mind which was hard to do. In the beginning, I said, all right, we’ll watch it. Anybody looking at it, who wouldn’t have experienced any abuse would have said ‘oh well, yes, leave them back into the community’ but there’s tens of thousands of people that were abused. And it would be wonderful to be able to see them come back to the community and know that they wouldn’t reoffend but, taking a chance like that, I don’t know because, if they reoffend there’s more lives put at, as I said, having to, going to bed with thoughts that we [him and other victims] have. And like where is, there seems to be a lot of help, you know, the offenders seem to be the one to be helped. There’s 400-450 in prison still but sure there’s tens of thousands of victims. And I don’t remember anybody coming to me, even since we came forth, to see if we wanted any counselling, any support to be paid for. I don’t hear of any and these men are getting, what?, €71,000 a year [the cost of the COSA programme in Ireland]. I think it all swings on the side of the offender, again.”

Corcoran: “I’ll just bring more information in summary of what was viewed last night. There’s also Circles of Support apparently operating in Ireland too. In an article, in yesterday’s Irish Times, court reporter Conor Gallagher reported: “Nearly 50 people have volunteered to support and monitor convicted sex offenders in the community, as part of a Probation Service programme which has substantially reduced reoffending in other countries. The Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) programme, which was launched in Dublin last year, is designed to reintegrate medium to high-risk sex offenders into the community by including them in an informal social support circle of volunteers.” So by all accounts, it’s being tried here in Ireland, what’s your view of that, Paul?”

Walsh: “I wonder how many of the 50 people that are helping out, were any of them abused themselves. I wouldn’t imagine that they’d like to be helping out. As I said, I think, like if we knew it was going to work and everybody deserves a second chance but like history tells us, from looking into it more, that they do reoffend. And, like a drug addict, that might end up taking drugs again. The drugs I don’t really mind, it’s another child abused, it’s another life ruined really, so…I’m not too sure about it. At the moment, I’m still…”

Corcoran: “You’re not reassured in any way? Or, even assured a little bit?”

Walsh: “I’m not really, no. No. Because of our own case, the amount of times, I mean, that this man was allowed get away with it. I can’t, bring him back into the community? No. I don’t think so.”

Later

Corcoran: “Having been through it and being very badly affected by it, what would you see as an alternative to what was suggested in that TV programme last night?”

Walsh: “Well, more support for the victims. I mean that report came across more in favour there for the offenders and nearly feeling sorry for them.”

Corcoran: “You felt it wasn’t balanced?”

Walsh: “No, it wasn’t balanced. It wasn’t balanced. And to be honest, there wasn’t much mention of victims, that poor mother was the only one, but there’s ten thousands, thousands of victims out there, you know, and again I can only reiterate on my own case. But there’s not a lot of support there. No one’s come to my friends since this has all broke out and asked, ‘are ye all right, lads’. I mean and it was the first time that my brothers and sisters and family knew about it and they were ringing me saying, ‘are you all right?’. They were affected. So, you know, it’s widespread. I don’t see much, again last night, the whole thing, to me, was ‘oh god love the offenders’, you know, ‘they need help’. ”

Corcoran: “So, for you, did you find it offensive then because of this…”

Walsh: “I did, yeah..I did, I found it very…now, I know they’re trying to bring it across, it’s a documentary of the offenders but it was too one-sided and..if you get them to the community and know they would’t reoffend again…safer and away from children, but like, in our circumstances, where our basketball coach was allowed coach for another 30 years, you know, and people knew what he was after doing. So, it doesn’t give you much faith in the system, at the moment anyway.”

Corcoran: “So what you’re calling for today is, after what you’ve been through, you need, you reckon that people like you need further counselling and that this is an area that needs to be addressed immediately.”

Walsh: “Definitely, yes, definitely. And there needs to be, an investigation has to be done to see why our particular matter was allowed roam free and an investigation because there was people in counselling with the HSE and the guards were never informed about it. You know, it’s all just odd, it stinks really, to be honest. The whole thing needs to be changed.”

South East Radio

Previously: Grooming The Nation

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Further to an earlier post this morning in which the victims of convicted and jailed paedophile Bill Kenneally responded to claims Kenneally made, through an intermediary, to The Irish Times in an article supported by the Mary Raftery Journalism Fund…

Tonight.

On RTÉ One at 10.15pm.

Journalist Mick Peelo will present a Would You Believe documentary called Beyond Redemption?

An explanatory piece about the documentary on RTÉ’s website states:

“…this special, investigative Would You Believe? documentary lifts the lid on Ireland’s sex offenders to discover a number of unpalatable truths: most are not paedophiles, most are never caught or convicted and almost 40% of them are children under 18; most sexual abuse happens within families and is kept secret.”

“Demonising the few sex offenders who are convicted is understandable, perhaps, but takes the focus away from the majority, who continue to operate undetected. In fact, it endangers rather than protects our children and our society.”

“Like it or not, a more humane approach to sex offenders actually reduces further victims.”

In the documentary, Mr Peelo goes to Arbour Hill Prison where he talks to the prison’s Governor Liam Dowling and psychologist Dr Emma Regan about the prison’s sex offenders’ treatment programme. He also meets and interview sex offenders and people who work with them.

In addition, he travels to Canada where, over 20 years ago, a mennonite community took in a paedophile called Charles Taylor in which he took part in a Circle of Support.

RTÉ explains:

“This Christian community built a Circle of Support and Accountability around a man the public had good reason to regard as a dangerous, serial predator, so that he wouldn’t reoffend. For the rest of his life, Taylor never did and those Circles of Support continue to help other offenders to re-build their lives in safety in a community setting.”

These “circles of support” are operating in Ireland, too.

In an article in today’s Irish Times, court reporter Conor Gallagher reported:

Nearly 50 people have volunteered to support and monitor convicted sex offenders in the community, as part of a Probation Service programme which has substantially reduced reoffending in other countries.

The Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) programme, which was launched in Dublin last year, is designed to reintegrate medium to high-risk sex offenders into the community by including them in an informal social support circle of volunteers.

The model originated in a Canadian Mennonite community and has since been successful in Europe.

Studies suggest there has been a 70 per cent reduction in sexual reoffending by those who go through the programme.

…Last year, 45 volunteers were selected following a public recruitment campaign. Individual offenders were put in a group of between four and six volunteers.

… The programme is funded by the Probation Service, at a cost of €71,000 a year, but is run by PACE, an offender rehabilitation organisation headed by Lisa Cuthbert.

Further to this, on this morning’s Today with Seán O’Rourke on RTE One, Mr Peelo discussed his documentary.

Also present to discuss is was Cormac Walsh, who was abused by Michael Byrne, a former teacher and brass band leader, from Templerainey, Arklow, Co Wicklow, and former Toronto police officer Wendy Leaver, who is an advocate of the Circles of Support programme.

Mr Walsh and Ms Leaver – a retired detective of the Toronto Police Services and worked in its Sex Crimes Unit for 20 years – also feature in tonight’s documentary.

From the discussion on the Sean O’Rourke Show…

Sean O’Rourke: “Mick Peelo, can you first outline to us: how did this programme come about and when was that question first posed? Could the way we currently treat sex offenders be doing more harm than good?”

Mick Peelo: “Well, Would You Believe? is celebrating 25 years of making documentaries on RTE and I’ve been working on it for 24 of those 25 years. I’ve been privileged enough to do that. And I suppose in that I’ve made some of the most harrowing and difficult programmes about sexual abuse. But this one, this particular one tonight, is probably the most difficult I’ve ever had to make but, for me, it’s one of the most important. I suppose because it raises hard-hitting questions about offenders of sexual abuse. In a way, I suppose, it makes us sit back and think about how do we treat sex offenders and is the way we treat sex offenders demonising them, isolating them, having a negative impact. And, I suppose, I’ve been hearing back from, over the years, from people working with sex offenders, people who sexually harm, that ‘yes, you in the media are one, a serious problem’ is what they’re saying to me, so, basically, I suppose, I listen to that and listen to sex offenders and ask those questions.”

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