DPP defends withdrawal of child sex charges
Posted
Director of Public Prosecutions Steve Pallaras says he considered the welfare of the alleged victim. (ABC News: Stateline)
South Australia's Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) says his decision to drop child sex charges against a former Adelaide private school chaplain was influenced by the health and emotional state of the key witness.
Prosecutors yesterday withdrew charges against former Saint Peters College chaplain John Mountford who was alleged to have sexually abused a 14-year-old student in the early 1990s.
DPP Stephen Pallaras says the trial was scheduled to start last February but was delayed after a suicide attempt by the alleged victim and it recently became clear that his wellbeing would be at risk if the trial proceeded.
"The delays themselves are an added imposition, are an added stress and one can imagine the build-up of stress that that has caused in him to a point where he's felt ... the only way out was to try to take his own life," Mr Pallaras said.
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