The Attention-Seeker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3uMgcRUYBs

The acquittal of Kato Harris in July 2016 attracted considerable media attention.

In December 2014, one of the former pupils of a large independent North London school at which Kato was a teacher alleged that at age 13 years she had undergone a series of anal rapes by the geography teacher.

So far, so good. An adult female recalling a traumatic childhood experience of terrible sexual abuse.

However, her description of the teacher did not match Kato Harris. But then, he was the only male geography teacher at the school. So. Not Kato by description, but Kato by position held in the school.

The ground is already a bit shaky maybe.

Anyway, as such Mr Harris came under immediate suspicion. On the strength of the accuser's uncorroborated word and the fact that he was a geography teacher, Mr Harris was arrested and charged.

Later in court a witness testified that in the course of questioning the accuser, the police officer had asked the woman the leading question,

"Is Kato Harris the teacher?"

But this prompt seems not to have prevented or slowed down the charging process.

The allegation of a series of rapes occurring in a classroom at the school during lunch had raised significant issues. Not least the fact that, as teaching staff testified, classrooms were regularly checked by staff. The doors had no locks. How likely was it that a teacher would conduct a series of rapes in the semi-public arena of an unlocked school classroom in a building bustling with staff and pupils?

The question seems to have been ignored, as was the fact that Kato Harris had been supervising a geography class at the time of one of the alleged rapes. It is hard to escape the suspicion that there was a conspiracy to find Kato guilty from the start. Also a pattern of police policy appears to have been emerging as case after case bore the imprint of the accused being judged ‘guilty by definition’.

Flimsy evidence.

The 11 months that passed before the police charged Kato was a time of extreme anxiety for him and his supporters. Life was on hold. Prison was a real possibility.

When it finally came to court it took the jury just twenty-six minutes to come to the conclusion that he was not guilty of the three counts of rape. The so-called evidence that could have sent this innocent man to prison for many years was flimsy.

Career and bank account.

But what might have been a time of rejoicing was a depressing experience. Not only had his life been transformed, leaving his career in tatters, but the process had cost him a great deal of money. He was also suspended from his job at a neighbouring school during the course of the trial. The prosecution had employed an excellent team, and Kato felt that in the interests of justice he should do the same. This had been costly and as a result of the enactment of LASPO[1] he was not entitled to repayment of his defence costs on acquittal. He was left emotionally broken and financially wrecked. Added to which, the bail conditions had left him high and dry, virtually unemployable and he had been banned from holding any teaching post. This also meant that for a year he had been deprived of key professional and personal relationships. It had been these connections that had previously formed the bulk of his social life. He found himself virtually under house arrest, and few of his old acquaintances bother to call round.

As for his accuser? How did she suffer? This liar, this attention-seeker, this woman who played a 'dare' game with her friends to see who could come up with the most bizarre and damaging story at the cost of someone's life? Well, believe it or not she continues to enjoy lifetime anonymity. Connecting her name with this case would be a criminal offence and would probably lead me to a prison sentence.

Attention-seeker.

It was known before the charge that according to a medical professional this woman was an attention-seeker. It was also known that she was in a competition with another student to see who could produce the most sensational story. She had changed her story during a series of questioning. Initially, she had claimed to have been orally raped, and later to have been anally raped. She had also made the claim that she had been physically or sexually attacked by someone in the family. Her credibility ought to have been in question. Nevertheless, the CPS decided to proceed with the charge. This strange decision appears to have taken no notice of much unused material. In light of this, it was not clear why or how this decision had been made.

Obeying the politics.

It is not clear why the CPS caused Kato’s laptop and mobile phone to be seized and why the CPS went ahead with the charges in this case. The police policy of believing the complainant in sexual offences, replacing ‘accuser’ for ‘victim’ and ‘accused’ for ‘perpetrator’ had been noted by Sir Richard Henriques in his report into the handling of false allegations. Perhaps this was the underlying motivation of the police. A fear of not obeying the politics. Perhaps it was this, plus a desperate need to get the conviction rates up. Particularly in Sir Richard's mind were the allegations made against the late Lords Brittan and Bramall, and against Harvey Proctor, although there were also many others. Despite the head of public prosecutions Alison Saunders' protestations that there were no innocent men in prison, this, he said, had led to miscarriages of justice.

No legs.

In Kato’s case it took seven months of inquiry and the questioning of over 40 witnesses to bring forward a flimsy prosecution with no legs. This had unsurprisingly left the police with a particular view about the charging process.

Leading questions and prompts:

The lead investigator’s view was that the accuser’s account had been heavily prompted. He also noted the fact that there was no corroborating evidence to support the victim’s allegations.

I know from personal experience how a poorly-conducted, prompted initial interview using leading questions will almost inevitably set-up an accuser to a particular view, gain the accuser new friends and how the resulting false testimony can bias a prosecution from the start.

I know how a prolonged period of telling and re-telling the story can groom and condition both the accuser and her supporting community into believing even the most incredible and unlikely allegations.

I know that rational beings are also social creatures. They are not like Data or Spock from Star Trek. Perception of truth and accuracy of memory are filtered through many gauzes before they harden into their final form. Relationship is one of those filters that can force the by-pass or reason, accessing, as it does something deeply beyond education and moral sense. Ethos is another powerful manipulator of perception, as is Group Identity.

Why did the CPS charge?

Is there a rational explanation of why the CPS decided to charge? This is unknown.

However, in Kato’s case his accuser’s parents were very wealthy and were able to instruct a former Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner and a former senior Crown Prosecutor to pursue the case.

Perhaps this goes some way to producing an answer to that question, although in my case my third barrister, provided pro bono by the court was also a circuit judge and so very well qualified for the job. We were not required to pay him money - which was lucky, since we had none! In Kato's case, there are those who believe that this provides a reason for why the CPS, under such great cash-and-influence-backed pressure from the prosecution, went ahead with the charge. A 29-point strategy had been given to the investigators. This was issued by the Commissioner. He had also discussed the case with the police.

Moral Reaction.

What does it need to launch a whirlwind of reactionary moral activity in an established institution such as a school? Simply the merest suggestion from an official – in Mr Harris's case a house mistress - that a young woman who had suffered bullying at school had been suffering sexual abuse. Although Kato’s accuser was not certain that this had been what she had experienced, it was enough for the wave of moral panic to carry the allegation on its crest. There seems to have been no-one who could prevent this from happening. The CPS ploughed ahead with the charge of rape on three counts despite character references from teaching staff that showed what respect he had among his colleagues, denying that this could ever have happened at the school.

Selecting a victim

Why did his accuser target Mr. Harris? Neither he nor anyone else really knows. Nevertheless, whereas she has been given lifelong anonymity, he has not. His name is plastered indelibly all over the internet and his circle of friends and colleagues in his profession all know his history. It is available at the touch of a couple of keys. He will never work in his profession again. What sensible under-pressure school governor is going to take the risk, when there are plenty other candidates for every advertised post? Added to this, many people will hold to the mistaken adage that there is no smoke without fire. His life, his privacy, his future, are shattered forever.

He declares, “I genuinely believe she picked me because she had to pick someone. It may have been something to do with a throwaway remark I made about her ‘funny face’ picture on Facebook. I don’t know. One of the biggest challenges I face in the future is learning to forgive her. I will do, just not now. I know that she would have gone through a lot of distress and guilt after I was arrested, as she knew I was innocent. I guess she may have simply lacked empathy. I don’t know."

A Returning Hero?

Now here follows the old, old story so familiar to the victims of false accusers. This brilliant geographer and inspired teacher, rejoicing at the finding of the court returned to London with high hopes of sharing his victory with St. George’s School. He, like us, had managed to survive the hell of court, the false allegation, and the months and years of interminable stress and anxiety. He had become a hero. He was a knight in shining white armour. He had been to the depths of Hell and returned with treasures of character, persistence, and discovery. He wanted to share his victory with those he loved. His colleagues; his teaching; his support of those in need of wisdom gained at high cost.

This was not to be. Some of the fee-paying parents, whose bank accounts showed that their child’s education at the posh school cost £33.000 pa had protested at his return to the school. But why? Social services had given him the thumbs-up, so there ought not to have been a problem. But no job for Kato Harris. The complainers, just like before, had got their way.

Like the Urban Dictionary says, there is always someone willing to wreck your day.

Money talks.

I am reminded of the words of Jesus to those who expressed a desire to follow him but wish first to hold a funeral for a relative. His reply was, “Let the dead bury the dead.” Mr. Kato, the brilliant geography teacher, now labours in a crematorium, burning dead bodies. He has been rendered effectively ‘dead’ by the naysayers and bigots with cash. This is a re-telling of my own experience as a formerly falsely accused professional.

Sadly, and unjustly, Kato’s life, like mine, is ruined.

[1] Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.