Counter Affidavit of Fr Shay Cullen
REPUBLIC Of THE PHILIPPINES . . .]
CITY OF OLONGAPO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] S . S .
AFFIDAVIT
I, Father SHAY CULLEN, of legal age, a member of the Missionary Society of St. Columban, with postal address at the PREDA FOUNDATION INC. at Upper Kalaklan, Olongapo City, after having been duly sworn to in accordance with law, do hereby depose and say :
1. That I am the President and Executive Director of the PREDA Foundation, a Non- Government Organization, approved and licensed by the Philippine Government for the care and custody of abused children.
2. That the Preda Foundation Inc. is an Internationally respected and
recognized Non-Government organization and is a member and an affiliate
of many renowned International Child Welfare Organizations. That the Preda
Children's Home works in cooperation with authorities in bringing child
abusers to justice, working in cooperation with the Secretary of Justice,
the Presidential Committee for Child Protection and the DSWD.
3. That Preda child protection activities, implementing the Convention on
the Right's of the Child, part of the Philippines' International Obligations
to the UN has brought many abusers to justice in the Philippines and abroad.
This work has caused resentment and retaliation from certain quarters of
the commercial sex industry, paedophiles and child abusers and families
who are suspected Of abusing their own children. One of the most common
tactics of child abusers is to counter charge those who seeks justice for
children as renowned anti-paedophile police investigators have said. The
e letter for Earl Wilkinson to TODAY is hereto attached as Annex "A"
hereof.
4. That my Religious Apostolate for the past 29 years has been working for justice and supporting the Convention on the Rights Of the Child of which I was a member of the drafting convention. The work for which Preda was founded was to help drug dependents, physically and sexually abused children and their families, promoting the rights and dignity of the Filipino people, conducting public awareness drives on children's rights and human rights. I founded PREDA in 1974, twenty five years ago for this purpose.
5. That as part of the mandate given to the Preda Children's Home as a Government licensed and accredited child care center, it is our duty to assist the authorities to investigate reports of child abuse in cooperation with the DSWD and provide shelter and protective custody for children suspected of being abused in any way. The Preda Children's Home provides shelter and education to these victims of abuse when the state cannot afford to support so many. The law itself recognizes that such work protecting children from sexual abuse and bringing the offenders to justice is hazardous, dangerous and leaves those of us involved vulnerable to false counter charges, harassment. The law recognized this as a pattern of counter action by suspects, and a likely consequence of taking action for children.
6. The law, particularly the IRR of RA 7610 Sec. 7 states that those who bring such suspected offenses to the attention of the authorities are immune from criminal proceedings. If not so protected concerned citizens, public servants would seldom report child sexual abuse for fear of counter claims. Then crime would increase dramatically, reporting would be rare and a culture of fear and intimidation would prevail. Children would continue to live in fear and sexual exploitation and domination.
7. In response to the charges by an American citizen, a US military retiree, Alan Dale Edmonds, that I raped his 7 year old daughter Oscar while she was at the Preda Children's Home is utterly preposterous, unbelievable and an outrageous lie, a false and malicious allegation. I absolutely deny that any such thing happened and counter charge that Edmonds and his Attorney Edmundo Carian have conspired together to frame me and the Preda Children's Home out of revenge because we have tried to uncover the truth as to who is the real abuser Of Oscar and one minor Rose. The written statement of the child Liza is totally false, concocted after other attempts to frame me failed, it was coached and made under pressure and constitutes a psychological abuse of the child by Edmonds assisted by Attorney Edmundo Carian.
7.1 We can see too that the child was prepared for making up and writing
this story because she was at first told that it was only a dream, and this
is what she had to agree to in her first affidavit submitted to the Bureau
of Immigration. Now that she was prepared and over time she was convinced
and pressured to say it was a true dream Children frequently have bad dreams
and nightmares after being abused. she would surely have such dreams after
the abuse by Roger and Oscar, so she only had be convinced to say that such
a dream happened for real. The fact that she was in hostile home where Oscar
was mad at her, Edmonds and Mrs. Payumo, whose son she had accused of the
abuse, she had no chance to tell the truth. She would have to tell the story
as they dictated it. Punishment was part of the programme and in the early
accounts of life in the Edmonds home Liza revealed on the taped disclosures
that she was punished by Edmonds. Pertinent parts of Liza's transcript are
hereto attached as Annex "B" hereof.
8. That the evidence of this is first of all evidence from the proven fact
that by his own admission, the abuser is Roger, son of Edmond's housekeeper,
Mrs. Purisima Payumo . And not only has he confessed to four acts of rape
against Liza in two sworn statements, Roger has again raped another 13 year
old child in Barrio Barretto in recent weeks. An on-going investigation
is looking into reports that he may have raped another child in San Antonio
early in 1998. It did not reach the office of the prosecutor because of
a private financial settlement between the family of the alleged victim
and Edmonds and Payumo. The Sworn Statement of Roger is hereto attached
as Annex "C" hereof.
9. That the motive for the false allegations and manufactured evidence (like a coached statement of Liza ) by Carian and Edmonds is clear, Roger gave statements, that Alan Dale Edmonds, had an intimate relationship with his sister, Rose, a minor, in Edmond's house in San Antonio, Zambales where both children were frequently alone with Edmonds since they were 10 and 12 year old respectively. This surfaced during interviews with the children in the Edmond's household. The SS of Roger about Rose and Edmonds is hereto attached as Annex "D" hereof.
10 . That further confirmation of this motive for a frame up by Edmonds and Carian, is in the details of Roger's statement that indicate grave acts by Edmonds that violate RA 7610 and are supported by statements of Rose herself. To prevent these facts coming out, to prevent Roger from testifying against Alan Dale Edmonds in regard to this relationship with Rose, Edmonds has not stopped in blaming others for the rape of Liza. His goal is to deflect attention and the arm of justice from catching up with him and Mrs. Payumo and to prevent, by harassment and intimidation, the filing Of charges against him and holding him accountable for the öabuse of Liza. The Executive Summary of Rose's disclosure is hereto attached as Annex "E" hereof.
11. That charges have been filed against Edmonds, Mrs. Purisima Payumo, Atty. Carian for Obstruction of Justice, child abuse and neglect. The said document is enclosed as part of this response and provide a historical and chronological record of the events that brought about this latest charge against me. The affidavit-complaint is hereto attached as Annex "F" hereof
12. That Edmonds together with other foreigners , operators of bars and clubs in Olongapo, has tried many times discredit and destroy my name and that of Preda by filing many false charges since March 1998. That Attorney Carian is receiving payment from this group to harass Preda with legal suites .
13. A total 15 charges most of which have been dismissed. His purpose
is to make any charges that we would bring against him appear as acts of
retaliation and so lacking in credibility. He filed a total of nine (9)
charges against the DSWD to intimidate them and force them to inhibit themselves
from pursuing charges against him. So far he has been successful as the
DSWD has taken no further action against Edmonds. He even filed charges
against the special prosecutor Dorentino Floresta because Fiscal Floresta
took the sworn statements Of Roger in which he Roger, admitted to having
raped Liza and in which he also said Edmonds had a relationship with his
sister Rose.
14. Among his 10 charges against myself and the Preda Children's Home, were,
among others, Grave Oral Defamation, Kidnapping, and rape of Liza (28 April
1998) The kidnapping charge against me was judged by the prosecutor as harassment
All others were dismissed as being baseless and without foundation. The
decisions on the dismissed charges are hereto attached as Annexes "G",
"H", "I", J" , "K" and "L"
respectively.
15. Their first rape charge against me was dismissed by Prosecutor Lasam stating there in "that the day of the commission of the alleged offense could, therefore, only be stated by Oscar and/or her eyewitness, if any, but this was not done". No statement by the child was produced and no witnesses and they did not even try to explain or show how and when the so-called offense could have happened considering that the child was in the 24 hour care of trained social workers and house parents of the Preda Children's Home who are constantly on duty and can and will testify that the child was not out of their care all the time she was in the Preda Children's Home.
16. Even then as now, Edmonds and Carian could not and cannot even prove that I even entered the highly secured building and dormitory the night when the alleged act was supposed to have occurred. For me to visit at any time is always a significant event because it is very rare for me to go there. All child care is done by the female staff there being no purpose, especially at night, as Mr. Alex Hermoso is the director and manager of the project. Besides all meetings between myself and the children are always in a group setting to celebrate the Holy Mass or to join in a birthday party. This is done in the general meeting hall of the Preda Center a public place. Counselling is done daily by the staff. Any contact between staff, directors and the children is governed by the rules, to be in a group, in an open space, visible to all, never behind closed doors. This is standard procedure in child care centers to allay any suspicion, ensure transparency and to forestall the very charges that Edmonds now brings. Such precautions are standard operational procedures.
17. Let us suppose, for the sake of argument, that if ever such abuse
did occur to Liza, after she was raped by Roger (between June 1997 and October
1997) it would more likely have been in the DSWD Lingap Center where there
is a mixture of boys and girls and where there is, due to lack of funding,
less staffers to continually supervise the more than 70 children for 24
hours . Sleeping quarters are crowded and the sexes can freely mix.
18. Likewise, should any such terrible crime have occurred, the child victim
Liza would surely have confided about it to the other children since she
is talkative and outgoing in her personality, so much so that she ran to
outsiders to tell them Roger and her half-brother Oscar Edmonds had abused
her in San Antonio. Besides such a traumatic event would have been the talk
of the Children's Home and it is highly unlikely that the child would have
kept silent about it. She was never a moment silent about Roger and Oscar
whom she pointed out as her abusers since October 1997 and never changed
that story until he was taken back into the custody of the Edmonds and the
Payumo's by force of a court order. The court order is hereto attached as
Annex "M" hereof.
19. An order which incidentally, put her back into the danger of further abuse by Roger and Oscar. Oscar was then with her daily, and evidence shows that Liza was brought to the house of the Payumo's in Bo. Barretto from time to time. From this house Roger allegedly sexually assaulted a 13 year old child named Nerissa Nery.
20. But the reason that the child never reported or told anyone about the so-called abuse at the Preda Children's Home is because it never happened, was physically impossible to happen without a special event of opening the security gates of the Children's Home, then ordering the staff to open the dormitory doors from the inside, open the lights of the dormitory and the walkways and flights of outside stairways and physically taking the child on a long roundabout way from one building to another and then having all locked up again. Then when the alleged act was over ordering the opening of lights and gates and doors again to bring the child back to the dormitory where the child says she it is supposed to have woke up. If her handwritten statement is to be believed, Edmonds admits he saw her everyday but she made no mention of any such abuse.
21. Liza is well capable of doing so since she insisted on telling many people what sexual abuse Roger did to her. She told Mrs. Payumo, Mr. Edmonds, her teachers, the social workers,the police and the staff. She is not shy or inhibited in talking about what happened to her. There was no restraining circumstance or fear in the Lingap Center that would prevent her from telling if any abuse happened to her at the Preda Children's Home. But she did not, because nothing but good things happened to her with the children and the staff.
22. The staff and children would remember such an event and ask Liza the next day where did she go, and what happened. The staff too would log it in the incident ledger. But they will testify that no such event ever happened. The charges are pure fabrication and Liza has been so pressured by the Habeas Corpus hearings, to get out of protective custody, by the daily persuasions by Edmonds and Mrs. Payumo when Edmonds and Payumo visited Liza at the Lingap center daily by his own testimony.
23. It is also significant that when the child was admitted to the Lingap center on the orders of Judge Ubiadas she did not have any complaint about any traumatic abusive event at the Preda Children's Home. The skilled, professional and sympathetic social workers at Lingap, who have many years of experience with sexually abused children do not have any findings what-so-ever that Liza reported or revealed any abuse while at the Preda Children's Home. In fact she reported that she missed her friends at the Preda Children's Home.
24. That the physical security of the Children's dormitory makes such an intrusion impossible to happen when it being a major and remembered event at the center. The dormitory is in another building, far from the staff and guest quarters, is difficult to access because of several flights of outdoor stairways that have to flood lit . It is always locked and can only be opened from the inside day or night, to protect children from their abusers who might try to enter and abduct them to stop them testifying. Likewise the outside security guards, are on duty patrolling on schedule the grounds around the children's home until the late hours. They would have seen or witnessed anybody, especially myself trying to enter and wake up the social workers in the dormitory. But they too can testify that no such event occurred which would be unusual and extraordinary.
25. That the social workers at the Children's Home keep a daily log book
in which all events, happenings, visits and occurrence have to be recorded
and signed by the worker on duty. This log book records no such day or night
events what-so-ever and the staffers on duty can testify to this. These
precautions were long ago established to protect the children.
26. That when Liza was transferred to the Lingap Center she confirmed to
the DSWD Lingap social workers that Roger and her half brother Oscar sexually
abused her. They will testify to this truth. These were the exact findings
of the Preda Social workers and is confirmed by Liza in a video taped child
friendly talk, where the child was not subject to a face to face type of
interview but in a child friendly environment. Please refer to Annex B.
27. That the DSWD Lingap Center workers filed charges of rape and sexual abuse against Roger and Oscar based on their own discoveries and had never seen or read the transcripts of the taped child friendly talk with Liza. So they will testify that their findings were independent of those of the Preda Children's Home. While Liza was revealing all of this to them she had nothing what-so-ever to say about any abuse occurring to her while at the Preda Children's Home.
28. That when Edmonds and Attorney Carian realized that DSWD Lingap Social workers had discovered independently, that the true identity of Liza's abusers, they immediately proceeded to confirm this by another Legal medical examination having noted that the legal medical result of the first examination in San Marcelino in October 1997 appeared to be deficient and not in keeping with what Liza was telling them and because they had some distrust of past medico-legal examination on children in San Marcelino District Hospital before.
29. That they discovered that the results of this examination at the James Gordon Memorial Hospital confirmed Liza's allegation of abuse against Roger and Oscar. The Lingap Social Workers will confirm and testify that the reason they suspected that the San Marcelino Hospital had made a deficient report was because it showed only abrasions not the kind of lacerations expected from the abuse done to her by Roger and Oscar. In a previous case of a child examined in that hospital the result was negative but when reexamined in Olongapo General Hospital it showed positive and the result showed healed lacerations. The soft and sensitive tissue of a 7 year old child does not heal quickly, experts from the Philippine General Hospital in the child protection unit will testify. The healed lacerations that they found were not ten days old as Edmonds wants us to believe but they were the lacerations caused by Roger and Oscar. The questionable medico legal of Reynalyn Supa and Liza is hereto attached as Annexes "N" and and "O" and respectively.
30. Edmonds, has tried, unconvincingly to maintain in his affidavit there could be 'healed lacerations' in ten days. This is incredible especially after what he alleged to be severe sexual abuse, as supposedly happened while the child was at the Preda Children's Home and described in the child's handwritten story. Experts will testify that lacerations suffered by such abuse as he described could not heal in just ten days.
31.That having failed to present any credible evidence in previous charges
against me, at the Bureau of Immigration when Edmonds presented an affidavit
signed by Liza this was not enough to convince any experienced investigating
official or prosecutor.
32. Then in another charge in Balanga, where there was even less evidence,
it was dismissed by Fiscal Lasam. So if both attempts failed the efforts
had to redoubled and the lack of evidence remedied. How to do that - manufacture
some. Thus the idea to get the child to write a note before the Commission
on Human Rights Central Luzon officer, no matter how salacious, false and
untrue it was, he was not deterred. Why such a effort, because by now Edmonds
had no credibility having failed in his frame up twice already. And he had
nothing to lose since he could get media mileage against me and the Preda
Children's Home by giving it to the press. This he did and so the malicious
aspect becomes clear. The Today newspaper article is hereto attached as
Annex "P".
33. That Edmonds then proceeded to manufacture what he hoped would be
really strong evidence and frame me for the crime committed by Roger and
Oscar and he had every motive for doing so. The first attempt was when he
got control over 7 year old Liza by filing Habeas Corpus cases against Preda
and the DSWD. Four months after his first attempt to frame me for sexual
abuse of the child failed, for lack of any evidence or credible statements,
he miraculously produced an affidavit of dubious content and with contradicting
statements, dated 18 August 1998, allegedly signed by the child Liza, made
in English and submitted to the Bureau of Immigration as an annex in an
attempt to have me deported. The sworn statement of Liza Edmonds is hereto
attached as Annex "Q".
34. This was the first affidavit he got Liza to sign. Since this was not
convincing to the investigation officer he coached her to write another.
She was getting used to this by now and knew what was to be expected of
her if she did not want to be scolded or beaten as stated above there is
convincing evidence in the taped video disclosure of Liza during her child
friendly talk that Edmonds spanked her even if she does not do anything
and for not following his instructions. He surely did the same again to
make Liza follow his instructions as what to write about her dream becoming
real.
35. That the very fact that the writing of this letter was staged in front of the Commission on Human Rights officer is suspect in itself. No doubt she was practiced a few time in writing this essay and then played out in front of the Central Luzon representative of the Commissioner On Human Rights to make it all the more credible.
36. Why not just have it sworn before a fiscal in the normal way like hundreds of other cases of child abuse? The answer is because Edmonds knew that the prosecutors were aware of his "litigation madness" and his 15 cases already filed non stop and that after two previous failed attempts to frame me he would again fail. So he turned to someone not familiar with the history of his many attempts to frame me and tried to get them to lend credibility to his third attempt. But the commission on Human Rights officer was not to be duped in this way and allow herself to be used to advance false allegations unsupported by other convincing evidence.
37. The fact that the Commission on Human Rights has not even asked me or the Preda Children's Home to file with them a formal answer to the allegations of Edmond's indicates that they cannot believe Edmonds. If they were fully appraised of his previous attempts and his 10 charges against me, against the DSWD and against Fiscal Floresta they would repudiate even his attempt to use them to be a witness to a charade that was to bolster his frame up. They would never lend the dignity of their office to such a cheap attempt to lay false charges had they known his true intentions and that he had previously failed twice already. How many more times can he get away with this?
38. That previous attempts by Edmonds to frame me failed. His complaint before the Bureau of Immigration made jointly by Edmonds and a German national, Harry Joost, the operator of a sleazy bar on Baloy Beach, Olongapo City the alleged paedophile hangout for foreigners failed. It was investigated and heard by the Bureau of Immigration officials and no further action was taken, the evidence being incredible and unworthy of further proceedings.
39. That it is clear Edmonds could not produce this affidavit of Liza in his first complaint of April 28, 1998 is because the incident never happened and the child was not so malleable, pliable or brow beaten. That Edmonds' motive is now, as it was then, revenge and self-protection. Having failed in other attempts to blacken my name and get revenge for exposing his relationship with the minor Rose and in a continuing attempt to cover up his own acts Of abuse against Rose and his neglect Of Liza.
40. That in making her affidavits the child was made to lie. That Edmonds lies in his own statements as shown by the official record. The first affidavit signed by Liza 18 August 1998, the child is made to claim that she was brought to the Hospital in San Marcelino a second time on 29 January for a medical examination when she was picked up by the DSWD social worker and the NBI and a Preda social worker .This is not true, as witnesses will testify. The only medical examination in San Marcelino was made in October 1997 when the abuse by Roger was first discovered.
41. That Those who prepared the affidavit for Liza either could not reconstruct the chronological events from the record or else they deliberately had the lie inserted to make it appear that the medico-legal was much later, they also wrongly claim that this medico-legal examination shows no abrasions, when it does, so they lied again. In the affidavit of Edmonds dated 5 May 1998 charging the DSWD with multiple crimes , Edmonds repeats this lie when he says :
"That on January 29,1998 ,after they took my child from her school, she was examined again at the San Marcelino district hospital, but her condition as that on October 17,1997 did not change, and a copy of which is here attached as Annex D. "
41.1 In the same affidavit in paragraph. 3 and 4, Edmonds says that Liza was taken to the San Marcelino District Hospital , "and was examined, and the result was negative" This is a false statement and Edmonds again lies to mislead the prosecutor. There was a medico - legal examination at the San Marcelino District Hospital on 17 October 1997 and the result proved positive. (but not complete and conclusive) It showed:
abrasions, Perihymenal area, Bilateral
Hymen, intact
Anus, intact, no signs of lacerations.
Please refer to Annex "O".
42. In fact the medico-legal examination of the previous October did show significant abrasions. But the doctor may have missed the other serious lacerations that were found by the Olongapo City general hospital examination on 26 February 1998. These healed lacerations were consistent with the abuse done to her by Roger and Oscar.
43. That Edmonds tries to make the medico-legal examinations evidence of his contention that Liza was abused when at the Preda Children's Home, why not at the Lingap Center? What is significant is that he tried to use this evidence to convince the prosecutors that the child was abused not by Roger and Oscar but by me. He fails to do this because the lacerations found in the second medico-legal examination were healed as stated above.
44. The first examination was defective, that is not sufficient evidence to prove that the healed lacerations were not caused by Roger and Oscar. That is a giant leap to make by Edmonds, he is no medical expert and introduces no medical opinion to prove his point. That is what is required of him if he makes such grave charges , he must provide convincing evidence, not just his own statement, to prove that the Medico-legal examination showing the "hymen lacerated with healed sharp edges" was not caused by Roger and Oscar. But he can't prove that, just accusing someone else is not sufficient. The logical explanation for such healed wounds, perhaps healed long enough for the San Marcelino Hospital examination to miss them. The fact of this alone is strong evidence that they, in fact, are the culprits, as the child herself said repeatedly .
45. Just because the first medical examination was deficient does not exonerate the named abusers Payumo and Edmonds. In fact the later findings of lacerated with healed sharp edges will prove that the healed lacerations date, more or less, from the time that Payumo and Edmonds abused her and that exonerates me and lays the offense where it belongs with Roger and Oscar.
46. The doctor in San Marcelino may have missed the lacerations because
they were healed in Liza's examination as in the examination of Reynalyn
Supe .The doctor may be forgiven since said doctor is not specially trained
in this kind Of examination. In fact the examination carried out by the
San Marcelino District Hospital on Reynalyn Supe on August 26, 1994 the
results were negative. When the same child was again examined at the Olongapo
General Hospital the results were positive. Therefore there is reason to
doubt the veracity and exactness Of the examination Of 27 October on Liza
done at that same hospital.
47. That they, Edmonds, and Atty.Carian, show disrespect for the law and
for the truth did not present Liza to the prosecutor to give her evidence
against Roger having her in their complete control and under their authority
but only presented Roger. That Atty.Edmundo Carian acted as legal counsel
for both Roger the self-confessed abuser and Liza Edmonds the 7 year old
victim is proven by the attached documents. The Appearance entered by Atty.
Carian for Roger is hereto attached as Annex "R" hereof while
the dismissal of the Abuse case against Roger and Oscar Edmonds is hereto
attached as Annex "S".
48. And it shows the low moral character Of these people, their unethical stance, their disregard for the law, justice and the rights of others. It is therefore plausible that they would not hesitate, after so many lost and dismissed cases, concoct some false evidence to achieve their aim.
IN WITNESS HEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand on this 25th day of November, 1998 at Olongapo City, Philippines.
FR. SHAY B. CULLEN, MSSC
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ___ day of November 1998. I HEREBY CERTIFY that I personally interviewed and examined the herein complainant and am satisfied that he voluntarily executed and understood the foregoing statement.
RAYMOND C. VIRAY
INVESTIGATING FISCAL