Lawyer slams police for talking about rape claim
August 28, 2009
Article from: Australian Associated Press
THE lawyer for a woman who says she was raped by an AFL footballer has slammed Victoria Police for revealing details of a confidential settlement in the case.
Victoria Police says it paid $20,000 to the woman, who alleged she was raped by a Carlton player, for "compassionate reasons".
Lawyer Richard Lewis said the police were "in breach of that settlement and it's very disappointing".
"The terms of that settlement were confidential and I haven't revealed what they were or any amount of money," he said.
"The police put out a media release about what the terms were."
The woman says she was raped by a Carlton footballer in 1999 and was offered the money by Victoria Police after it bungled its investigation of her case, ABC television's The 7.30 Report reported yesterday.
The alleged incident came to light in late June, when detectives interviewed former Carlton president John Elliott after he said publicly the club had paid hush money to women over rape allegations during the 1980s and '90s.
Mr Lewis pointed out that the ABC TV report focused on the woman rejecting an offer of $20,000 from the police, but would not confirm or deny whether she accepted a second offer of cash.
Victoria Police released a statement on Friday saying the woman accepted its second offer of $20,000, which included a confidentiality clause.
The woman said that was untrue.
"I don't know what they are talking about. That is wrong. I've never accepted any money," the woman told Fairfax Radio.
"They didn't come back with a second offer. They offered me once, that's correct, yes, and I rejected it.
"The police stuffed up. The guy got away with it."
The program also reported an Office of Police Integrity (POI) document found the police botched the investigation into the woman's rape allegation by not collecting the suspect's DNA and letting two days pass before visiting the alleged crime scene.
Victoria Police apologised to the woman at the time and in its statement and said its initial offer of $20,000 was rejected by the woman and she unsuccessfully took legal action.
"In a further show of good faith and for compassionate reasons, Victoria Police again offered the woman $20,000 because we believed it was the right thing to do," the statement said.
"This offer was accepted and did include a confidentiality clause which is standard in government litigation.
"We are extremely disappointed with her response, particularly as a result of the significant efforts by Victoria Police to deal with this matter."
A Victoria Police spokesman said the force would not comment when asked whether other claims of sexual assault against AFL footballers had been settled in the same way.
