on 02-10-2014 08:00 AM
Woman who accuses Opposition Leader Bill Shorten of rape says police failed her
A news paper video of the woman is here http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/woman-who-accuses-opposition-leader-bill-shorten-of-rape-says-polic...
A WOMAN who claims she was raped by federal Labor leader Bill Shorten has accused Victoria Police of failing to investigate properly because of his position of power.
Earlier this year, authorities decided not to press charges against Mr Shorten because prosecutors felt that “there was no reasonable prospect of conviction”.
The woman, Kathy, asked that her surname not be published, but agreed to be photographed.
Interviewed by the Herald Sun in Queensland, she said the trauma of what she says happened to her had been exacerbated by what she sees as an inadequate police investigation.
“I had three main witnesses ... I gave them the phone number of one, her maiden and married names, told them she lived in Melbourne.
“The police told me they couldn’t find her,” Kathy said.
“But they went to all of Bill’s friends,’’ she said.
Mr Shorten’s press secretary Ryan Liddell last night referred to Mr Shorten’s statement in August: “The claim has now been thoroughly and rigorously investigated by police, as is entirely proper.’’
Mr Shorten said then: “I fully co-operated to clear my name. And that is what I have done ... The police have now concluded the investigation. The decision speaks for itself.”
A Victoria Police spokesman said the force was satisfied that the matter had been “fully investigated”.
Kathy told the Herald Sun she felt let down and devastated by how police had handled the matter.
“With another witness, the police tried to say she was influenced by the media, which doesn’t make any sense.
“I don’t think I had a hope in hell with the police because of who he is,” Kathy said.
“If Bill was just a regular guy I think it would have been different. The police would have had a load of evidence to do something.
“I left it in the hands of the police, and they did nothing.”
Kathy, now 44, alleges Mr Shorten raped her at a Labor youth conference in Portarlington in the winter of 1986, when she was just 16.
The community nurse completed a 19-page police statement with detectives from Victoria Police’s sexual offences squad last October 23.
The police rang me up in April and told me they had called Bill in for questioning.
“They then said the case was closed and that they weren’t going to reopen it,” Kathy said.
“They said I would not be able to get access to any of the evidence. They said I could apply through Freedom of Information but I wouldn’t get it.
“I never really had a leg to stand on. They have tried to bully me,” she said.
“ I have got rights, and they are trying to take away my rights. People are treating me like a nutcase.
“It doesn’t mean I’m stupid or I’m fabricating things.”
Kathy had a rapid rise in Young Labor when elected to the rural policy committee.
She became a delegate for party state and national conferences in 1986.
Soon after joining Labor she says she came to know Mr Shorten — himself a rising star in the party.
After he travelled to Wodonga to meet local members, Kathy says she began speaking to him on the phone regularly about party and policy issues.
Kathy says she and her sister went to Portarlington for the youth Labor conference during the winter of 1986.
Kathy says she was raped by Mr Shorten after being pushed into a bathroom in the early hours of the morning.
She says no one else was present. A number of Young Labor members had spent the evening drinking and smoking marijuana, she says.
In her police statement, Kathy outlined how she came to know Mr Shorten and what she said happened on the night in question.
Kathy says she was raped after a group had arrived back from going for a drive.
“There was a knock at the door,” Kathy says. “I thought it was my sister. I opened the door and it was Bill.”
Kathy says she and her sister left the camp the next day.
The Herald Sun has seen a police statement by Kathy’s sister, completed on October 23 last year, in which she confirms details about the location of the Labor youth camp and the people who were present.
on 02-10-2014 01:21 PM
Sounds like another Ashby case I wonder if she will do a 60ty minutes story for payment of course.
on 02-10-2014 02:18 PM
@micasheen wrote:
Picking on an alleged rape victim is something that should not be tolerated, it's like getting raped all over again.
It was her decision to go public; she could have gone to the police instead. I imagine going to the media and talk about "it" would be like being raped all over again. There are things that most normal people talk about with their best friend, or their therapist. Many people find court case too much, because they do not want to live through it again. I do not trust people who announce rape on TV.
And after all this time it boils down to one side saying "you did" the other saying "I did not". How do you decide who is telling the truth? The thing is that such allegations are impossible (in many cases) to disprove, and the mud will stick, and I bet this story will be trotted out any time Shorten starts gaining on Abbott.
02-10-2014 02:47 PM - edited 02-10-2014 02:49 PM
Just for the record, can't stand Shorten any more than I can stand most poli's, but seriously, statute of limitations people, not to mention, how easy to pop up XXX amount of years later and accuse someone of anything, especially a prominant someone.
If this is genuine, I feel for the woman (girl at the time), I really do, and fully expect and accept many to say she would be too scared at the time to make a complaint, as many are......
but there has to be the doubt, so many years later, no DNA, no reliable witness, and if it is a false accusation...................
as Supa said - " I do not trust people who announce rape on TV"
or IMO - too many years later to allow the alleged crime to be properly investigated.
on 02-10-2014 06:53 PM
@micasheen wrote:If the police do their job properly they can prove or disprove many cold case investigations.
I think you have been watching too much TV. "Cold cases" that were originally reported, and forensic evidence collected & stored, sometimes can be solved years later as new technology become available.
on 02-10-2014 08:39 PM
This reminds me of the” Recalled Memories” many years ago, where “ victims” accused people of rapes, bashings etc. A lot of these charges were followed through and found to be bogus. These memories usually occurred after a visit to your friendly quaint headshrink.
The “victim”usually had other issues and was more interested in financial settlement and publicity more than justice. The damaged to peoples reputations was immense and they were never able to rectify the situation.
on 02-10-2014 09:52 PM
Not surprised at all, its the way it works
02-10-2014 10:10 PM - edited 02-10-2014 10:11 PM
All you have to do is consut history to see the grubiness of all the Labor leaders, it is a prerequisite to qualify for the position.
on 02-10-2014 10:19 PM
its not just labor, both parties are full of coruption from the top down .
deals for benefits
changing laws for mates
political donations for turning a blind eye (protection)
changing media laws to get favourable press
on 02-10-2014 10:25 PM
oh I forgot, scholarships for PMs daughter, its not like she needed it above someone more deserving that will miss out on an education because of back room deals.
after all I thought that what scholarships are for, to help a brilliant mind that's financially poor, silly me in this age of entitlement
on 03-10-2014 04:45 AM
There could be many reasons she didn't report it before this but..............the way she did is probably indicative of her not being traumatised over it (still)
I suspect a report to the police would be your usual response wouldn't it?
I don't know if she is being truthful but with no evidence, no actual witnesses and the investigation done, it's time to let it go....... or take further civil action.