An open letter from Kate to John Elliott
Article from: Herald Sun
June 24, 2009 12:00am
Dear Mr Elliott,
I read with much interest the comments you made on Sunday regarding allegations of rape made against players of the Carlton Football Club during the time that you were president.
The Sunday Herald Sun reported that the football club had concerns one woman might be telling the truth and that she had also accepted hush money.
I assume that I am that "one woman" you were referring to, as my case was the only one to have reached the public domain.
First, can I remind you of the fact that no, I never once accepted any so-called "hush money" - and you know that.
You would also know that not once did I ask anyone for any amount of money, nor was I offered any.
If any amount, no matter how great, had indeed been offered we both know that I would have flatly rejected it, as financial compensation would have never effected any amount of healing from the psychological pain and trauma I experienced.
When you spoke of the various rape allegations, you were quoted as saying; "Of the four or five, there was one that we were worried about, the others we knew were not true or we were told by the players they weren't true."
How am I to interpret this comment? To what extent were you "worried about" my case? Am I to assume that you lost sleep over it? Because I certainly did.
I would like for you to understand the details of my suffering directly related to that event.
For a start, I have experienced long-term depression and anxiety - this has greatly affected my ability to work, my ability to develop and maintain social and personal relationships, and my ability to enjoy any quality of life.
Indeed, my whole outlook on the world and other people has been tarnished . . . possibly forever. I wish you could see the tears running down my face as I write this, Mr Elliott.
Ever since you made those comments last week, I have been unable to sleep or even eat properly. You have re-opened some very painful wounds, Mr Elliott.
If you harbour any shred of concern as to how I was treated by the Carlton Football Club, I ask you first to carefully consider the comments you might make in a public domain.
I also implore you to divulge any further information that you have regarding the events of my case. Maybe that way I can sleep at night.
Finally, you were also quoted as saying that "there's some very ordinary people out there".
Indeed there are, Mr Elliott. Indeed there are.
Sincerely, Kate
Alleged rape victim demands John Elliot name footy players
Article from: Herald Sun
Michael Warner
June 24, 2009 12:00am
UPDATE 10.44am: ANDREW Demetriou knew in 2004 of rape claims against a Carlton player, as John Elliott ignored the victim's pleas.
The woman who claims she was raped by a Carlton footballer has called on John Elliott to help her.
"Kate" said AFL officials, including current AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou (then CEO of the AFL Players Association) and former AFL boss Wayne Jackson, had also failed to help.
Mr Demetriou, speaking on ABC 774 this morning, said the father of the woman wrote to the AFL in 2004 about the case, and it had referred her to the Police Ombudsman.
But Kate says her father wrote to Mr Demetriou as early as 2000, while he was the head of the AFL Players Association - complaining about the way the police and the club had handled the case.
Police have since apologised for botching the case.
“Police said they didn’t handle it well and we’ve got enormous sympathy for the woman,” Mr Demeteriou said today.
But asked whether the AFL had any obligation to investigate the women’s claims, Mr Demetriou fended off the question.
“There was always scuttlebutt going on … that those sorts of activities had occurred. I’ve got no evidence … other than hearsay.
“What I can say is that in 2004, I said that if any woman had any allegations against anyone involved in football they should come forward.
"And if they came forward they would be treated on a confidential basis, and directed to the appropriate authorities so their matters could be investigated. And that’s exactly what happened.”
Mr Demetriou said today many involved in the Carlton football club were “perplexed” by Mr Elliott’s comments, and said any culture of violence against women was “abhorrent”.
Kate, who alleges she was raped at a party after Carlton's 1999 Grand Final loss, says the former Blues boss must tell police everything he knows.
Mr Elliott revealed last week that Carlton had paid thousands of dollars to four or five women he claims falsely complained they were raped by players.
But he admitted the club had concerns one of the women was telling the truth - a confession Kate believes referred to her.
"Rape is rape and I've been fighting for justice since 1999," Kate said yesterday.
"I hope Victoria Police have taken notice of Mr Elliott's statement and ask some very serious questions.
"If you know something, Mr Elliott, please come forward. If you are talking about me, please help me and do what is right."
But Mr Elliott told the Herald Sun he had no interest in helping her.
"She said what? I have no idea and I'm not interested. The story has got totally out of hand. I'm really not interested at all," he said.
At least three other high-profile Carlton players are believed to have been present at the time of the alleged assault at a northern suburbs home.
She said she had consensual sex with one player but later woke up to find another raping her.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland, then an assistant commissioner, later admitted detectives had botched the case.
A damning Ombudsman's report found that police had failed to take DNA tests or interview key witnesses.
Mr Overland said there had been an "almost total failure" by investigators on the case and apologised to the woman.
Kate said whenever a Carlton match was shown on TV she suffered psychologically.
Today, Mr Demetriou said Elliott’s latest comments confirmed the need for the AFL’s respect and responsibility program, which confronted the football community with the realities of sex assault.
“If that sort of activity was going on, all the more reason to make sure we found that abhorrent, and to introduce a policy that would outlaw that sort of behaviour, and would educate everyone in the industry as to why we found sexual assaults against women offensive and intolerable.:
Says he has “no doubt” AFL footballers now look at the issue of sexual assault very differently.
He said the respect and responsibility program had been very carefully prepared in cooperation with Melbourne University, State Government Committee, Victoria Police, and a former police veteran specialising in sexual violence.
Attorney-General Rob Hulls launched a scathing attack on Mr Elliott in Parliament, calling for attitudes on sexual violence against women to change.
"It's totally inappropriate for a former AFL president to think its funny or clever, to be virtually boasting about keeping potential sexual assault matters out of the media by declaring: 'We'd pay the sheilas off and wouldn't hear another word'."
Mr Elliott, who was Carlton president from 1982 until 2002, made the hush money claims while speaking at a charity event in Hobart.
Former Blues CEOs Ian Collins (1981-93) and Stephen Gough (1994-99) have since denied Mr Elliott's claims.
with Matthew Schulz
Police bungled woman's sex assault claim
By Selma Milovanovic
February 11, 2005
Two police could face disciplinary action after an Ombudsman's report damned a bungled investigation into a woman's claims that former Carlton footballer Heath Culpitt sexually assaulted her more than five years ago.
Assistant Commissioner Simon Overland yesterday offered his personal apology to the former stripper over the "almost total systems failure", but assured other women pursuing similar claims against footballers that the mistakes in this case were isolated.
The Ombudsman found last month that police failed to conduct their investigation in an adequate and timely manner.
A spokeswoman for the Ombudsman confirmed that the report found "serious deficiencies" in the police investigation. But she would not confirm that the suspect's DNA was not taken; that a tape of his police interview was lost; and that the woman's calls to police were ignored for years.
The woman's allegations last year sparked an internal police review of up to 17 other complaints against professional footballers. While its final report is due in the coming weeks, Mr Overland said preliminary advice indicated police had dealt with the matters adequately.
Mr Overland admitted that while most police were not reluctant to investigate famous people, he could not discount the possibility that some officers "wouldn't be intimidated or wouldn't have other reasons for perhaps not pursuing allegations against high-profile people as vigorously as they might".
The spokeswoman for the Ombudsman said the Ombudsman recommended disciplinary action be taken against three police officers. One has since left the force. Mr Overland confirmed the two remaining officers could
face internal disciplinary measures after an Ethical Standards Department investigation.
"I think it's really a failure of our system, almost a total failure," Mr Overland said.
"The matter just simply didn't progress for a number of years."
The woman, "Kate", said in the media last year that she considered contacting the Ombudsman after Victoria Police almost ignored her allegations that Culpitt sexually assaulted her in late September 1999 - three days after the Kangaroos beat the Blues in the AFL grand final.
The Ombudsman's office contacted her first, while the sexual crimes squad picked up the original investigation, which is now close to being completed.
Kate, who was a stripper at the time, claims she was sexually assaulted at a house party to which she went with some Carlton footballers she had met at the Crown Casino complex.
She claims she first had consensual sex with former Carlton footballer Brad Pearce, now 33, and went to sleep. She awoke while Culpitt, now 26, was sexually assaulting her.
While the Ombudsman's report has not been publicly released, a leaked copy found that police failed to get statements from witnesses immediately after the alleged event. The crime scene was not properly examined and some players present were not interviewed until 2004.
The Ombudsman also criticised the force for ignoring the woman's repeated phone calls for an update on her case.
Mr Overland said that while he could not apologise on behalf of Victoria Police, "I don't think we did a good enough job and for that, personally, I'm sorry."
"Kate" yesterday told Radio 3AW she was angry when the police continued to ignore her calls after she had reported the matter.
"At the start I didn't say too much because I wasn't sure how it all worked... But then when it got to the point of years down the track, I was getting very frustrated," she said.
She said she believed police did not take her seriously because she was a stripper and the accused was a footballer.
Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon and the Office of Women's Policy have established the Statewide Steering Committee to Reduce Sexual Assault.
Last year, a Victorian Law Reform Commission recommended major changes to how courts treat rape and sexual assault victims.
Opposition police spokesman Kim Wells urged the Government to review procedures.
Police Minister Tim Holding would not comment.
- with Farrah Tomazin, Orietta Guerrera
Former Blues player Heath Culpitt was accused by a woman of sexually assaulting her three days after Carlton lost the 1999 grand final, although an ombudsman's report later found police had bungled the investigation. Culpitt was never charged over the matter.
The woman, who was a stripper at the time, claimed she had consensual sex with former Carlton forward Brad Pearce but, after falling asleep, claimed she awoke to Culpitt sexually assaulting her.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25681346-661,00.html
so now the CEO was involved in the poor treatment of this woman
the story has not got a mention on any TV i've seen so the media are doing their usual AFL cover up
Carlton football executives to be questioned over rape claims
By Michael Warner and Anthony Dowsley
Herald Sun
June 26, 2009 12:01am
THE Carlton AFL football club rape investigation has widened with other senior executives from John Elliott's 20-year reign at the club to be questioned.
Sexual Crimes Squad detectives, who yesterday interviewed Mr Elliott, now want to speak to other club officials.
Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stephen Gough and Etihad Stadium boss Ian Collins - former Blues CEOs - are among those who may be quizzed, the Herald Sun reports.
Both have strongly denied any involvement in the payments of hush money to alleged victims of sexual assault by Carlton players.
It comes amid revelations Carlton great Wayne Johnston was named as a witness police wanted to speak to over an alleged sex attack in 1999.
Court documents seen by the Herald Sun allege Johnston had knowledge of an incident at a northern suburbs house where "Kate" says she was raped by another Blues player after the club's AFL Grand Final loss. He was not interviewed by police because he had gone to Queensland.
Mr Johnston's lawyer George Defteros said his client could not be contacted for comment.
Detectives spent more than an hour with Mr Elliott at his city office on Thursday, describing the talks as "very helpful".
It has emerged that Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland intervened on the hush money furore, asking officers to question Mr Elliott about what he knows.
Former Carlton player and current politician Justin Madden, who retired in 1997, said he was unaware of sexual assault allegations in his time at the club.
"Just because I was employed at the football club doesn't mean I have a view," Mr Madden said.
The scandal erupted last week when Mr Elliott claimed Carlton chiefs paid thousands of dollars to several women during his presidency to prevent them going public with allegations they had been raped.
The comments prompted "Kate" to come forward.
She said she had consensual sex with one player but later woke up to find another raping her.
But her case was dropped in 2005 after police chiefs admitted the investigation had been botched.
In another blow for Mr Elliott, he and former club champion Anthony Koutoufides were yesterday sanctioned by community TV network Channel 31.
Channel 31 general manager Greg Dee took aim at Koutoufides and former teammate Ang Christou for laughing at Mr Elliott's claims during this week's show.
Mr Elliott yesterday declined to discuss the hush money issue.
Mr Gough did not return calls and an MCC spokesman said he would not be commenting. Mr Collins is travelling overseas.
Police are urging any of the alleged victims offered money, or witnesses who could help the investigation, to contact them.
El Diablo said:the story has not got a mention on any TV i've seen so the media are doing their usual AFL cover up
You're wrong. The media hasnt covered this up at all.
where is it mentioned on this AFL dedicated news site? http://www.realfooty.com.au/
Um. In the 'news' section? Wouldnt you click on the 'news' button for 'news' about the Carlton rape allegations?