http://www.newrossstandard.ie/news/i-have-been-through-anguish-2089084.html
'I have been through anguish'
DEFAMATION CASE AT WEXFORD CIRCUIT CIVIL COURT
Wednesday March 03 2010
A FATHER and three sons spoke of their shock and hurt when a fellow member of the Jehovah's Witnesses community in New Ross alleged he had been raped by them. William O'Connor, of Corcoran's Lane, Irishtown, New Ross, and sons Michael, John and Gerard O'Connor, all of the same address, brought a defamation case against Adam Ballard, with an address of Clonmore, Clareen, Birr, Co. Offaly, before Judge Alice Doyle at Wexford Circuit Civil Court last week.
The O'Connors' counsel, Susan Burke, said it was claimed that Adam Ballard spoke of them in a defamatory way, clearly portraying them as people to be held in contempt, who had committed the extremely serious offence of rape.
The Jehovah's Witnesses' Kingdom Hall in New Ross.
Ballard's words were extremely harmful and hurtful and totally without foundation, she said.
Ms Burke said Mr Ballard's 'calculated' words had exposed the O'Connors to odium, ridicule and contempt.
She told the court that William O'Connor, a settled Traveller who was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses community and congregation in New Ross, was asked to attend a meeting with Oliver Hegarty and Tony Walsh in the Kingdom Hall in Mary Street. When he arrived, Adam Ballard was also present.
Ms Burke said that during the meeting Mr Ballard alleged that William O'Connor and his sons, Michael, Gerry and John, repeatedly raped him during 1980. 'You came into the caravan in Navan and raped me at the Assembly. It happened again in McMurrough several times. You also used to go down to the woods with four others, light a fire, dance around it with paint on your faces and rape me again,' said Mr. Ballard.
' My client was flabbergasted with the words spoken which defamed him and his son. There were consequences from this and they had no option but to leave the congregation in New Ross. He (William) is now a member of the community in Wexford town,' said Ms Burke.
She also said no complaint had been made to the Gardaí prior to that meeting but Sergeant Brendan Kelly eventually received a complaint from Mr. Ballard. At the present time there is no criminal prosecution against the plaintiffs, she said.
Sergeant Brendan Kelly told the court that he would have to claim privilege in relation to what he can say as a criminal investigation is continuing. He said that a complaint was not made directly to him but that an official complaint was made to Sgt. Gerry Cambell in Birr Garda Station on April 24, 2004. The matter was then referred on to him. The investigation is continuing.
Conor O'Doherty, Ballard's barrister, said what happened in the criminal sphere is outside this particular case. Whether a criminal prosecution is being brought or not is not a relevant factor in these proceedings. However, Judge Doyle said that Ms Burke can continue her cross-examination. William O'Connor, in evidence, said he has been a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses community for 34 years and has been a Witness for 30 years. His family are also members of the congregation. He told the court that when he was a member of the New Ross community he would attend four meetings a week in the Kingdom Hall and one in a private residence. He said that his elders, Oliver Hegarty and Tony Walsh, were in the New Ross Community at the time.
Mr. O'Connor also said that Adam Ballard was known to him and his family for 30 to 35 years. He said he would have worked with Adam's father and his brother, but never with Adam, who was a bit ' stand-offish'. He said he never had any dispute with Adam.
William O'Connor told the court that in March 2004 he was invited to attend a meeting in Carlow after two elders, Oliver Hegarty and Tony Walsh, approached him as they were in an assembly in Carlow.
Mr Hegarty and Mr Walsh told him that an allegation had been made against him. It was really puzzling and he could not understand what it really could be. He said he had not met Adam Ballard for a number of years. After the meeting in Carlow, Mr O'Connor said he was invited to attend a meeting in the Kingdom Hall in New Ross with Oliver Hegarty, Tony Walsh and Adam Ballard.
Mr. O'Connor said: 'Adam Ballard made a statement against me that I had raped him so many times. Mr. Walsh conveyed the words to me. Adam also conveyed the details and accused me of raping him in Navan and other places. It was also supposed to have happened in some woods. I was never in those woods in my life.'
He said that Oliver Hegarty went along with what was said by Mr. Walsh and also quoted scriptures from the Bible.
' I made a statement to Tony Walsh that no matter what I did I am now blemished,' said Mr O'Connor.
Mr O'Connor claimed that the normal procedures for such a meeting were not adhered to as there should have been three or four elders along with Witnesses present. This is the procedure that should have happened according
b to the Bible, said Mr O'Connor. However, Judge Doyle said this is
b not an enquiry into the procedures of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
t Ms Burke said they are making a
h point that the meeting was not properly convened in the first place. 'There were a number of serious
t allegations put to me. I was devastated. It started a nightmare for me for the last six years. I have not had a decent night's sleep since. My health has deteriorated, I suffer from diabetes and it has put 20 years on my life,' William O'Connor told the court.
'When I left the meeting, I told my wife about it. One of my sons was supposed to have raped him ( Ballard) as a seven-year-old. It was my son Johnny whom he accused of this. When I told my sons they were all devastated.
'I did not class Tony Walsh and Oliver Hegarty as elders. I have since joined the Wexford community and come on beautifully. I never went back to the New Ross community for they are not fit to have a Bible in their hands. I have also received telephone calls about being a paedophile and the family has got calls. Some people know about this and have mentioned it to them. These meetings are supposed to be private but were relayed to third parties,' said Mr O'Connor.
Mr O'Connor also told the court that both Oliver Hegarty and Tony Walsh took notes of the meeting but when he requested that the notes be given to his solicitor he was told they had been destroyed. It was in June 2006 that he was arrested and brought to New Ross Garda Station and interviewed. He said that while the allegations were put to him he was never charged.
Barrister Mr. O'Doherty suggested to the court that the procedure adopted in all of this was correct at all times and could be resolved in the face of two elders.
However, Mr. O'Connor said that both Tony Walsh and Oliver Hegarty abused their authority and jumped to conclusions straight away. 'If I were going on the gallows in the morning I would want justice. I got a raw deal here. Adam Ballard was never going to give an apology to me or my sons. He was just looking to destroy me. He did a good job of it.'
John O'Connor told the court that his father had told him that he had a meeting with Tony Walsh, Oliver Hegarty and Adam Ballard, and was told that Adam Ballard had been abused by himself, his two brothers and his father. He said he could not believe it and was mortified. He could see the effect the allegations had on the family. It was a very hurtful thing to see his his parents distressed. He totally denied the allegations.
Replying to Mr O'Doherty, John O'Connor said he had never been confronted by Adam Ballard. He was arrested and interviewed at New Ross Garda Station later. He also said that he is not now a member of the community.
Michael O'Connor said he became aware of the allegations when his father told him. He was told that Adam Ballard alleged he had been raped around camp fires and other places. He also totally denied the allegations.
'I was disgusted with the allegations. I was outraged that Oliver Hegarty and Tony Walsh took it upon themselves to deal with the allegations.' He claimed that there were no background checks done and that his father's privileges were taken away from him.
Gerard O'Connor said his father told him of the allegations that Adam Ballard said he had been molested by him (William) over a period of time and had been raped. His father told him that during the course of the meeting Adam Ballard approached him across the room stating 'I would take your head in'.
'I was shocked at the allegations and felt betrayed. I was disgusted and felt angry. I have been separated from my wife for the past 12 months because of the anguish I've been through.'
Replying to Mr O'Doherty, Gerard O'Connor said that only half of the problems arose out of what was said; the remaining problems arose over how it was dealt with. 'I have suffered, my brothers have suffered, and my father and mother have suffered,' he added.
Tony Walsh told the court that everything that was done was at the direction of the branch office in Newcastle, Co. Wicklow.
When Judge Doyle asked for the documents relating to their procedure, Mr. Walsh said the document is confidential.
Mr O'Doherty said there's a book where procedures are laid down. 'They say they have not got the book but maybe it could be acquired in Wexford,' he said.
Mr Walsh said that had been informed by Peter Curley that Adam Ballard had a problem to be dealt with. They met with William O'Connor at the assembly in Carlow. They later met at the Kingdom Hall in New Ross. They introduced the meeting in New Ross by saying a prayer after which they gave Mr. Ballard an opportunity to say what he had to. William O'Connor became nervous. Mr Walsh said that he was shocked to see how Mr O'Connor reacted.
At the meeting Mr Ballard accused Mr O'Connor of raping him. He also said that at one of their conventions he was raped by William O'Connor and Michael O ' Conn or. Mr Walsh said that at the meeting Mr O'Connor said he would deal with the matter legally. Mr Walsh told Mr O'Doherty they did not form a judical committee because there was only one allegation. The steps takes were correct and followed procedure.
Mr Walsh also agreed with Ms Burke, counsel, they were the most serious allegations that could be made against an individual.
The case continues today.
http://www.newrossstandard.ie/news/i-have-been-through-anguish-2089084.html