Rape Charge Against Fr. Shay Cullen Dropped
Published in The Irish Catholic & The Catholic Standard
December 21 & 22, 2001
CHARGES of rape against Fr. Shay Cullen, the Irish priest who campaigns against child pornography in the Philippines, have been dropped.
The complaint, by a former US servicemenwho is the stepfather of a seven year old girl who was in the care of Fr. Cullen's PREDA Foundation in 1997, was dismissed by Ronaldo Zamora, executive secretary to Filipino Reseident Joseph Estrada, the day impeachment proceedings against President Estrada began. But Fr. Cullen says he does not know if the dissmissal of charges against him is linked to the impeachment trial.
"I am very relieved for myself, but in these cases we are most concerned for the victims," said the irish priestwho hopes that the girl involved will be taken away from her step father and placed in the care of social workers.
Mr. Zamora said the case against Fr. Cullen was "bereft of any solid foundation" and that more thatn "bare suspicion" was needed to justify a conviction.
A medicl examination of the girl in October 1997, did not find any evidence of sexual assault. Denying the allegation, Fr. Cullen claimed the girl's stepfather, Alan Dale Edmonds, had pressurised the girl into producing an affidavit against him and that it was part of an effort to curb his campaign against child prostitution.
Among those who supported Fr. Cullen's plea of innocence was Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila who wrote to the Filipino Department of Justice praising Fr. Cullen and the work of his PREDA Foundation.
CIAN MOLLOY