So according to a story just broken by IrishCentral.com, the “vile and false” accusation against a member of Dana Rosemary Scallon‘s family is that her brother – and campaign advisor – John Brown sexually abused their niece.
Pretty vile all right, and from an odd source. No complaint or charge of sexual abuse appears to have been made. The accusation comes from legal testimony given by the father of the alleged victim, Dana’s brother-in-law Dr. Ronald Stein, during the legal wrangling between the partners formerly involved in Dana’s record label. (Heart Beat Records, a “Christian music company the family had established in the U.S.” as IrishCentral describes it.) However he appears not to have accused Dana’s brother of the crime so much as claimed that he confessed to it.
It has to be emphasised that we have no particular reason to believe the accusation. Possibly the testimony by Stein is a fabrication made during a very nasty battle to control a lucrative family business. This is what Dana herself appears to believe, and as the Irish Times reported, the judge in that case said that “no witness spoke only the truth.”
Will this affect her campaign? In fact I think it could do her more good than harm. Unlike the loosely comparable issue dogging Senator David Norris, her brother has not apparently been convicted or even charged with anything, and the full extent of Dana’s involvement, as far as we know at this point, was to try to keep the allegation off the record and out of the papers. That may have been ultimately a foolish move – if an allegation is baseless you inevitably lend it credence by attempting to suppress it – but she doesn’t appear to have done anything at all improper. Then there is the issue that will inevitably follow on. Was some journalist really using this information to threaten her, as she seems to believe? If it can be shown (or made to look like) one was, then she has a sympathy vote coming.
I doubt if it is true though. It seems more likely that she perceived, or wished to characterise, any questions about these allegations as an attempt to undermine her campaign. But she should not pretend, even to herself, that such an allegation made in court is of no legitimate interest to the electorate. The biggest mystery here is how it did not come to light until this late stage.
Will it effect the outcome of the election? No, not at all. She was quite clearly not electable anyway.
Related articles
- The Truth About The Truth About Dana (i.doubt.it)
- Dana rejects ‘sexual’ allegations (bbc.co.uk)
- What is Dana Wibbling on about? (politics.ie)
2 replies on “‘Vile’ Dana Allegations Finally Revealed”
Cardinal Sean Brady has not being charged with anything either, nor have the 800 individual abusers identified in the Ryan Report. Cardinal Desmond Connell has not being charged with anything either. None of the Religious Orders identified in the Ryan Report have been brought to book either. None of the offending bishops mentioned in the Murphy Report have been charged either. Bishop Magee has not been charged. But then again we are talking about Ireland here.
The allegations directed at Dana are meant to smear her, even though she’s not involved and they are not personally defamatory of her. I’m actually quite sure that when these vile allegations were made the accused took immediate action to clear his name. It’s not right to sit on these kind of allegations whether false or no!
Who gains by these smears?
I’m quoting a friend here. And he asks important questions: “” A few days ago Dana complained about the media raising the matter of a family dispute, which she claimed had been resolved. However, as the Irish Central article suggests, this spat involved her brother-in-law Stein [making those vile claims.] If that accusation has been made, how has the dispute been resolved? Has Stein subsequently withdrawn his accusation? If not, has the matter been reported to the authorities? And if not, why not? Even someone who looks to the Catholic Church as a role model for so much of her behaviour must surely recognise that [child abuse] is something that must purely and simply never be tolerated. And it is likewise important to take action if someone is, for whatever reason, making false accusations of this nature.
When someone accuses another of having sexually abused a child, the only thing to do is go straight to the relevant authorities and have the matter investigated. It is a pity [Dana] did not do so. Even if she felt 100% certain in her heart that the allegation was unfounded, she should still have gone to the authorities, because anyone who makes unfounded allegations like that is also helping to reduce the level of protection that children are given. I’m sure she’s heard of the tale about the boy who cried wolf. “”
Of all the people to attempt to smear they choose Dana and with one of the worst kind of smears possible. Whoever is doing this is a low individual and if they are involved with any of the candidates they should be exposed.
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