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Article Category: 2006 August

Ruling due in `pedophile' defamation case:[O SA Country Edition]

Description:

Article originally prepared on : 16 August 2006

Jeremy Roberts. The Australian. Canberra, A.C.T.:Aug15, 2006. p. 4

A JUDGE will decide today whether to throw out the state's firstcriminal

defamation trial in 46 years after the defendants argued they had no caseto

answer because the "victims" had never publicly denied they werepedophiles.

If South Australian District Court judge Marie Shaw decides the ninecharges

against Wendy Utting, Barry Standfield and a third defendant, CraigRatcliff,

stand, she must then decide whether the case will be divided into two, withMr

Ratcliff facing a separate trial. Mr Ratcliff in March last year allegedto

journalists that a Labor MP was a pedophile and had been video-taped atan

inner- Adelaide gay beat engaged in illegal sexual conduct with a teenageboy.

The controversy took a surreal turn when then parliamentary speakerPeter

Lewis, a self-styled anti-corruption campaigner and his two volunteerstaff, Ms

Utting and Mr Standfield, repeated the claims and, along with MrRatcliff,

suggested two gay men who also knew about the Labor MP had beenmurdered.

At the height of the controversy a fax was sent to numerous mediaorganisations

naming the Labor MP and three others -- two serving police officers anda

former state Liberal politician -- as pedophiles.

In five days of pre-trial argument, Ms Utting's lawyer, George Manciniargued

his client had "no case to answer" because none of the victims had everdenied

the claims to the court.

"There is no evidence by way of declaration of witness statementsabout

falsity," Mr Mancini said. He argued that it was not enough for theclaims

against the men to be "inherently untrue or despicable". He said the Crownmust

present evidence, like a denial, that the original claims were false.

Judge Shaw said that even judicial officers were "not immune from whatsome

people call despicable acts".

A police investigation into the claims turned into evidence- gathering forwhat

became nine charges of criminal defamation against the threedefendants.

The Rann Government kept silent but warned media organisations theyrisked

criminal defamation charges if anyone was named. The four men were notnamed in

the media.

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