Victims groups hit at judge’s remarks

A JUDGE who accused the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) of abusing the judicial system has been criticised for his remarks by members of victim support organisations.

Colm O’Gorman, the founder of Oneinfour, a support group for sexual abuse victims, said he was ‘surprised and a little shocked,’ that Mr Justice Paul Carney had openly criticised the DRCC at a weekend conference of the Irish Women Lawyers’ Association.

Mr Justice Paul Carney, who presides over the Central Criminal Court, criticised a DRCC victim impact report, presented in court, which said the severity of a sentence would determine the degree to which the victim became reconciled with the justice system.

The judge said this was a use of a statutory mechanism to campaign for longer sentences and was ‘a serious abuse of process.’

Mr O’Gorman said the judge had made a good point, but believed it shouldn’t have been made at a public forum.

Mr Justice Carney also criticised the director Muireann O’Briain, who was not at the conference, for remarks made on radio where she condemned the provision of expensive lawyers to those on trial for child pornography offences.

He dismissed her claim that there was no such thing as a false sexual charge.

Former head of the Rape Crisis Centre, Olive Braiden, was also critical of the judge’s criticism.