Nemesis
07-27-2004, 04:32 PM
I dont think it matters whether the guy was innocent or not, I wish there was this much 'outrage' every time any inmate was raped.
The Australian (http://www.news.com.au/common/printpage/0,6093,10267414,00.html)
By Paige Taylor
July 28, 2004
AN illiterate man on remand for a crime he did not commit was allegedly raped by serial killer David Birnie and another man while in protective custody.
The man, 23 at the time, said yesterday he had been raped by Birnie and pedophile Adrian Barrett in the showers of Unit 6 of Perth's maximum security Casuarina Prison in August 1999.
He had been placed in the protected unit because he was suicidal and had been deemed to be vulnerable. He was subsequently acquitted of arson charges.
He was paid almost $73,000 in victim's compensation last week and yesterday called for West Australian authorities to reopen criminal investigations into his claims. No one has been charged.
"I'm not dealing with it very well... this has ruined me for life," he said yesterday.
"The reason I want to go public is because I don't want it to happen to anybody else."
The man's decision to come forward yesterday prompted Prisons Department executive director Terry Simpson to express regret over the alleged attack.
"Any assault on a prisoner is regrettable and we take it very seriously," Mr Simpson said.
Police from the major crimes squad have now begun a review of the case file, which was closed in 2000 because of insufficient evidence for a prosecution. The West Australian Justice Department has launched an internal investigation into the claims.
The alleged involvement of Birnie surprised prison authorities as he was not named in the man's original complaint to police.
The man is illiterate and claims he was frightened and confused at the time, and that his original statements were not read back to him.
The man - who, under the state's Criminal Injuries Compensation Act, cannot be identified - now claims the accused men warned him not to tell anyone about the alleged assault because he would be known within the jail as "a dog" and would not be allowed back in the protected unit.
He alleged Birnie and Barrett laughed about raping him, and claimed he heard Barrett rape another prisoner the same afternoon.
He said Birnie had been pointed out to him by prison guards, before the alleged attack, as a peer mentor who would give him advice and help. The Justice Department denied this claim yesterday.
The Australian understands a fellow inmate told police in a 1999 statement that he warned the then remand prisoner about sexual predators: "I warned this person, 'cause he looked like a bit of a slowie and he needed to become aware of the people in the unit."
The man's lawyer, John Hammond, demanded yesterday that an independent inquiry be held into why his client was left alone in a unit with "highly dangerous" prisoners.
Birnie was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping, torturing and murdering four young women in 1986, accompanied by his de facto, Catherine.
The man also claimed Birnie enjoyed special privileges at Casuarina, such as steak dinners and the freedom to roam around.
Mr Simpson said that although Birnie appeared to be a well-behaved prisoner, he received no special privileges.
"We have various levels of privilege that prisoners can aspire to ... but David Birnie has not achieved any level of privilege within the prison system," he said.
The Australian
The Australian (http://www.news.com.au/common/printpage/0,6093,10267414,00.html)
By Paige Taylor
July 28, 2004
AN illiterate man on remand for a crime he did not commit was allegedly raped by serial killer David Birnie and another man while in protective custody.
The man, 23 at the time, said yesterday he had been raped by Birnie and pedophile Adrian Barrett in the showers of Unit 6 of Perth's maximum security Casuarina Prison in August 1999.
He had been placed in the protected unit because he was suicidal and had been deemed to be vulnerable. He was subsequently acquitted of arson charges.
He was paid almost $73,000 in victim's compensation last week and yesterday called for West Australian authorities to reopen criminal investigations into his claims. No one has been charged.
"I'm not dealing with it very well... this has ruined me for life," he said yesterday.
"The reason I want to go public is because I don't want it to happen to anybody else."
The man's decision to come forward yesterday prompted Prisons Department executive director Terry Simpson to express regret over the alleged attack.
"Any assault on a prisoner is regrettable and we take it very seriously," Mr Simpson said.
Police from the major crimes squad have now begun a review of the case file, which was closed in 2000 because of insufficient evidence for a prosecution. The West Australian Justice Department has launched an internal investigation into the claims.
The alleged involvement of Birnie surprised prison authorities as he was not named in the man's original complaint to police.
The man is illiterate and claims he was frightened and confused at the time, and that his original statements were not read back to him.
The man - who, under the state's Criminal Injuries Compensation Act, cannot be identified - now claims the accused men warned him not to tell anyone about the alleged assault because he would be known within the jail as "a dog" and would not be allowed back in the protected unit.
He alleged Birnie and Barrett laughed about raping him, and claimed he heard Barrett rape another prisoner the same afternoon.
He said Birnie had been pointed out to him by prison guards, before the alleged attack, as a peer mentor who would give him advice and help. The Justice Department denied this claim yesterday.
The Australian understands a fellow inmate told police in a 1999 statement that he warned the then remand prisoner about sexual predators: "I warned this person, 'cause he looked like a bit of a slowie and he needed to become aware of the people in the unit."
The man's lawyer, John Hammond, demanded yesterday that an independent inquiry be held into why his client was left alone in a unit with "highly dangerous" prisoners.
Birnie was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping, torturing and murdering four young women in 1986, accompanied by his de facto, Catherine.
The man also claimed Birnie enjoyed special privileges at Casuarina, such as steak dinners and the freedom to roam around.
Mr Simpson said that although Birnie appeared to be a well-behaved prisoner, he received no special privileges.
"We have various levels of privilege that prisoners can aspire to ... but David Birnie has not achieved any level of privilege within the prison system," he said.
The Australian