The image most of us hold in our mind’s eye of a sexual predator is not the character outlined in the 23 references submitted in support of Daniel Ramamoorthy to the courts. The references, many of them glowing, were offered following Ramamoorthy’s conviction over a year ago for child exploitation of a 13-year-old boy.
In the references, Ramamoorthy (40), with an address at Whitebarn Road, Rathfarnham, and also in Germany, was described as a man of impeccable character, deep religious faith, impressive intelligence, who cared deeply for others, a description distinctly at odds with the reality of his convictions.
Ramamoorthy is a convicted child abuser. He was placed on the sex offenders’ register.
To paraphrase Jim Glennon, the former TD and one of those who offered a reference, it is difficult to reconcile the charges and convictions with the person he knew, “the friend for whom I had, and still have, so much respect”. A coterie of friends and supporters – a representative of the Indian embassy in Dublin; a HSE project manager; a US-based co-founder of a global children’s charity; an actor and a pastor – clearly felt similarly. Their testimonials – which refer to Ramamoorthy a “unique, inspiring and loving” man who was a “true asset to society” with a “deep commitment to serving others and making a difference in the world” – expose a clear mismatch between a real-life sexual predator and the stereotype of a predator.
Ramamoorthy’s lawyers argued before the Court of Appeal last April that his sentence of two years and four months was excessive and that the sentencing judge failed to give sufficient weight to his “exceptional background”. The sentencing judge had noted it was rare to see character references of this calibre.
Twinned with the natural tendency to believe that we all get our just deserts, victims are routinely made to feel that they played a part in their own abuse and therefore are partly culpable
Research carried out by a group of academics I belong to with survivors of child sexual abuse shows how abusers hide in plain sight. Sexual predators, paedophiles and those guilty of sexual violence are too often portrayed in the public mind as monsters: flawed characters lurking dangerously in the shadows, aberrations of humanity that we would easily recognise. But all of the available evidence indicates that the overwhelming majority of perpetrators of sexual violence are friends, acquaintances, trusted figures. Those who prey on children walk among us.
A brief review of Ireland’s recent history tells us that children are most at risk of sexual predation in their homes, in sport clubs, church and scout halls, boarding schools and swimming pools. Children are prey to family, teachers, priests, coaches such as Bill Kenneally, who died on Thursday – or in Ramamoorthy’s case, a trusted leader in a camp. He was acting as a mentor and a leader in a children’s camp when he met the victim. As the judge pointed out, the victim ought to have been safe with him. And of course, everyone thought he was.
Our legal system – in using these character references – perpetuates the myth that abusers cannot occupy positions of trust or important roles in the heart of our communities. This myth is a real and present risk to safeguarding children.
Constructing sexual predators as deranged or flawed characters allows us to make them both exceptional and identifiable in our mind’s eye. And so we are not motivated to protect children in their everyday lives. Rather than questioning or interrogating a relationship between an adult and child or situation where children may be vulnerable, we operate on the flawed assumption that children are safe.
On the other hand, if we accept that sexual predators are fully paid up members of our local clubs and communities, we are immediately motivated to change our ways.
It is painfully apparent that change must include ending the practice of using character references. I have listened carefully to legal experts argue in favour of these references. Often, as in this case, they are brought into play at the sentencing stage. They are used to humanise perpetrators. Many in the legal profession argue the value of references to the sentencing process. While this might be of value for individual perpetrators and legal teams, the downside of this practice is that it can introduce inequity into the justice system. And the extent to which character references actually result in downscaling of sentences particularly in cases of sexual crime is not at all clear in any case.
References are a reminder that our system prioritises the needs of perpetrators over the needs of victims, both in and out of court
On the other hand, the risks of character references are obvious. In humanising perpetrators, they may also diminish the perceived severity of their crime. In the most extreme cases, perpetrators can even be presented as victims of an over-zealous system. We have seen many cases before the courts where possession of child sexual abuse imagery has been presented as victimless. Ramamoorthy had pleaded guilty to a separate charge of possessing child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography.
In sentencing Ramamoorthy for this crime, judge Sinead McMullen was attuned to the potential for the crimes to be diminished. She reminded us that child pornography is always a product of child abuse. She also noted that it was “quite extraordinary” that none of the character references supplied to the court mentioned the boy at the heart of the case. In the written support for the perpetrator, the victim was literally overlooked. This is what victims mean when they say they have been retraumatised by our legal system.
This minimisation of sexual crimes also lies at the heart of victim-blaming. Twinned with the natural tendency to believe that we all get our just deserts, victims are routinely made to feel that they played a part in their own abuse and therefore are partly culpable. All of this adds to the distress of those who experience child sexual abuse.
The damage caused by childhood sexual abuse lingers into adulthood, resulting in fractured social relationships, the inability to trust others and a lingering sense of anger and injustice. Research by our group and others shows that sexual abuse in childhood stays with people and has lasting effects on mental and physical health across the lifespan. Rebuilding relationships with and restoring trust in other people and our wider social systems is crucial to preventing the worst outcomes.
Character references get in the way of this. Victims’ experiences are too often diminished or rendered invisible.
References are a reminder that our system prioritises the needs of perpetrators over the needs of victims, both in and out of court. They communicate to victims that the impact of their experiences is not a key concern. This practice that places our children at risk of predation also gets in the way of recovery for everyone affected by sexual abuse.
It is time to stand down these public pleas in favour of those convicted of sexual crimes. This will allow us to prioritise, however belatedly, the health of the estimated one in four of our population who have experienced child sexual abuse.
Orla Muldoon holds a joint appointment as professor of psychology at Queens University of Belfast and University of Limerick
