BARRY JOHN COHEN
A high-profile Australian legal drama, purported to be the most expensive case in Australian legal history, a case of pedophile, that is common to all countries. A Family Court Ruling vs. the Rights of Children? Which takes precedent? What defenses are there for ignoring a Family Court ruling, who can ignore it, and when can the Family Court ignore the evidence of the children?Dr. Russel Pridgeon and Patrick O’Dea, survivors of apartheid and the Rhodesian war, fled Robert Mugabe’s oppressive regime and migrated to Australia in search of a better life. In Australia, Dr. Pridgeon founded the Anti-Pedophile Party. Subsequently, Professor Emeritus Freda Briggs enlisted his help to protect a mother’s twins from alleged sexual abuse. For four years, they concealed the twins at Dr. Pridgeon’s expense until their discovery led to the mother’s arrest. Later, 28 armed officers, accompanied by the media, arrested these men, accusing them of operating Australia’s largest child smuggling ring. Vilified as child molesters in the media, facing seven charges with a potential fifty-year sentence, qualified for, but denied legal aid, and subjected to stringent bail conditions, while Dr. Pridgeon’s medical license was suspended. Over the next five and a half years, they contested these charges with significant public backing, despite the AFP concealing evidence with a magistrate’s collusion. Aided by a former convict turned legal advisor, they challenged Australia’s legal system, suspicious court rulings, constant charge changes, and the deliberate disappearance of evidence, and ultimately prevailed against the odds.
