On September 12, 2014 a three year old boy in a Spiderman suit went missing from his grandmothers home in Kendall, sparking days of massive searching by police, SES and an army of civilian volunteers. No trace of him was found and the police admitted that they were considering that this may have been an abduction.
This week police Homicide and Forensic divisions descended on a home at Bonny Hills and searched the property. Heavy equipment was brought in and the perimeter was covered in police tape. A septic tank was drained and searched and areas of the yard dug up. Bags of evidence were taken away for forensic examination - and at the end of the search the police tape was removed - and the media waited for an outcome.
This was the home of a 63 year old grandfather who makes his living repairing whitegoods. It seems that he had repaired a washing machine at the home from which the boy disappeared and in the earlier investigation the police had taken a ten page statement from him - and there is the suggestion that some discrepancies were apparent. No charges have been laid.
We expect the police to thoroughly investigate all and any serious crime but this investigation took place in the full glare of the media. All three television channels carried this story as the main item of their nightly news and the public was treated to scenes of machinery conducting searches and a veritable army swarming over the property. The sight of police tape isolating a search area from the public presents the inference that this is a crime scene - and in the eyes of many people there is an automatic association with "guilt "!
There is a distinct possibility that when the forensic laboratories conclude their investigation they may come up empty handed. It certainly seems that this police search was inconclusive because no charges were laid. In such circumstances, the police usually either refuse to comment or simply state that "Their investigation is still proceeding ". The stigma that this search laid on the person investigated remains !
That is impossible to remove. Even if at some later time a bushwalker comes across the remains of that little boy and they conclude that he simply wandered away and became lost, the subject of that investigation will remain "guilty "in many people's minds. Deep in their subconscious a doubt has been sown and that persists long after the reason for it's presence is forgotten.
This man earns his living repairing whitegoods. Because of the publicity the case has received there seems no doubt that families with young children will be reluctant to call him to visit their home and do a repair. He may well be ostracised in his local neighbourhood and he will certainly be the subject of speculation by those with differing opinions.
This seems to be the classical "Catch 22 " situation. We expect the police to do their job without fear or favour, and yet in so doing they can wreak enormous damage on individual reputations. The fact that this investigation was carried out in the full glare of the media contrasts the public's "right to know "with the individuals "right to privacy ". Even if the media were prevented from airing search footage, it would be apparent on the local scene and quickly become public knowledge.
Our law is quite clear. We are innocent - until proved guilty. Unfortunately that guilt no longer rests on the decisions made in a court of law. We seem to be in the era of "Trial by Media " and making that decision has verged into the area of public entertainment. This search has been fully covered on television and no doubt it will be the subject of intense speculation on talk back radio - and the opinion of people totally lacking facts will influence public opinion.
Whatever the outcome, the life of the person under investigation will be forever changed. Obviously, the guilty should receive the full force of the law, but what if they got things wrong ? What they set in motion this week with that public search can never be undone !
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