Wrongful Conviction

ABC Tropical Queensland/February 5, 2004
By Judy Kelly

While paedophilia is considered the most heinous of crimes, we've heard today about a Sydney man who was awarded damages for being wrongfully charged with raping his two young stepsons.

Former Queensland Social Worker, Michael Cox, also claims that he was wrongfully charged with sexual abuse and has now set up his own organisation for Citizens Against False Sexual Allegations.

He says that there's serious miscarriages of justice in Queensland courts which sometimes lead to lengthy imprisonments - click on the audio link below to hear his story.

He attributes the wrongful accusations to False Memory Syndrome which is the domain of Dr Travis Gee who's a Research Fellow at the University of Queensland and Griffith University.

Dr Gee claims that therapists and counsellors can sometimes instill false memory in their patients which can lead to wrongful accusations and subsequently, wrongful convictions.