Trying to sue for something which

happened more than forty years ago? 

A man with a troubled, criminal past is now trying to sue the Education Department in this state. He claims that back in the early eighties he was sexually abused and bashed by a teacher at school. He further claims that this has caused his PTSD and substance abuse issues which have led to his twenty-eight year serious criminal career.

The teacher being accused is no longer alive to defend the claims. His accuser is looking for $1.5m in damages. He is claiming the Education Department failed in its duty of care towards him. The case is apparently continuing.  

It raises some interesting issues. There is no "statute of limitations" here - a time limit within which an issue must be raised.  The question of whether it is reasonable to wait forty years is something is one of those issues. There are other issues as well.

The most important of these is whether there can be a fair trial after forty years in a case like this. There is no DNA evidence available. There are apparently no witnesses to the events which are being claimed to have taken place. 

On the assumption the complainant is a truthful person how accurately can he remember something which took place forty years ago? 

I am said to have a good memory for most things but I do wonder how much and how accurately I would remember some events. Yes of course something like that can be "etched" into memory but what about the details?

Some time ago I heard a woman talk about her time in an orphanage. It was a place which was later investigated and condemned by some. She had nothing bad to say about the place. I discussed it with her afterwards and we agreed that many of those who condemned the place were those who were troubled when they arrived. They were children who often came from violent and difficult situations. They made trouble for others where they could. They were punished for things like fighting, disobedience, insolence and more. 

We agreed some of them would have turned the memory of those punishments into a memory of acts of abuse against them. Punishment was often physical in the time we were discussing.  Some of them would genuinely believe their "memories".  A strapping when your pants are down? Turning that into a memory of sexual abuse if you were a troubled child and then an adult with further issues would be all too easy. These complainants are not lying. They will be telling the truth as they see it. It is a major issue with such historic abuse cases. But can you blame all your life choices and criminal history on one instance of abuse after forty years? That is surely a different question. 

The person bringing the action in this case was apparently already a trouble maker in school. He admits he was in the teacher's office without permission. What was he doing there? No doubt the court will hear the answers to those and many other things.