Family want ‘archaic’ law overhauled

THE family of a young Down Syndrome woman blocked from testifying about being allegedly sexually assaulted have criticised Irish legislation as “archaic” and demanded the Government overhaul laws for disabled people.

Laura Kelly, aged 23, was prohibited from giving evidence about her alleged assault by a judge who deemed she did not have the “capacity” to testify in court.

The Kerry woman and her family are receiving widespread support to close a legal loophole which is failing to support disabled victims of sex offences in court.

Rights group Inclusion Ireland will today re-ignite a campaign for the introduction of modern mental “capacity” legislation to bolster basic rights for disabled people and those with special needs.

Laura’s mother, Ann, described the night her daughter experienced the alleged sex attack, which was witnessed by her sister.

“My eldest daughter found this person stripped naked in bed with Laura and her clothes removed apart from a bra... Laura was in an awful state.”

The alleged incident occurred in February 2006 following a 21st birthday party for Laura’s brother at her sister’s home in Navan. The matter was reported to gardaí the next day and Laura was taken to the sexual assault unit of the Rotunda Hospital.

“Laura’s doing very well now. She has the odd occasion where she talks about the man but she has improved,” Ann told the Irish Examiner.

Inclusion Ireland will today push to modernise legislation, claiming the current system for disabled people on issues like access to justice, medical treatment, control of money and even the right to marry is antiquated.

Current legislation in the area is nearly 140 years old – dating back to the Lunacy Act of 1871, say the group.

Laura Kelly’s case was thrown out of court in 2007 and her alleged attacker acquitted after the judge ruled she had failed a competency test.

Despite having a mental age of four, she was treated under the law as an adult in court.

Laura’s mother wants laws on competency relating to disabled people or those with special needs radically changed. “She [Laura] was brought into this room in the Central Criminal Court and asked questions about numbers and colours and days of the week which had no relevance in Laura’s mind. She knew that she had to go into a courtroom and tell a story so the bad man would be taken away.

“It was ridiculous. There is no one trained in Ireland to deal with someone similar to Laura, from the gardaí up to the top judge in Ireland and the barristers and solicitors.”

Inclusion Ireland wants new legislation to ensure there are clear rules on testing “capacity”. Legislation is needed before Ireland can ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which the group claims the Government has failed to do for three years.