Acquitted of sex crime, Hyde talks about case
On June tenth 2002, twenty-five year old Douglas Hyde, then a counsellor and teacher at Anglican Cathedral College, made news after a student accused him of rape. The fourteen year old told police that she and another female student went to see Hyde on school business and it was after the other young lady left the room that she alleged Hyde had sex with her against her will. One year later, Hyde has been acquitted of the charge that was eventually changed to unlawful carnal knowledge. This afternoon, he visited News 5 to speak about his case.
Douglas Hyde, Acquitted in Supreme Court
“I guess the D.P.P., after reviewing the file realized that certain things did not match-up to what the victim had stated. The guess the D.P.P. did what he believed was best for the trial process.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Is it true that the victim did not bother to show up and testify and that is why the charge was dropped?”
Douglas Hyde
“Well that is part of the fact too, that she didn’t show up, and also that basically we are looking at probably other factors in the case why certain things came out of the trial.”
Jacqueline Woods
“What exactly transpired on that afternoon there at the Anglican Cathedral College? You were a counsellor at the college?”
Douglas Hyde
“I was a counsellor-teacher. My emphasis is more that nothing didn’t happen; I didn’t have no sexual relationship with none of these young ladies in the sense. Allegations came up, I guess as many people out here, allegations do come up against anybody. Mine came up on rape and I am thankful that on Tuesday the allegations, all charges, were all thrown out.”
“The crucial thing with this whole case that I want all people to learn, is that I hope this is a learning process for them, institutions, organisations and also person like myself, social workers, counsellors, learn from this whole process, this whole case itself, to protect themselves while working with young people. I am saying that the dynamics with young people have changed so dramatically that you really need to also be flexible how to work with them and how to literally get some production out of them.”
Jacqueline Woods
“And you’re also saying that nothing at all happened inside this room, you did not physically touch her in any way?”
Douglas Hyde
“That was not the case. For seven years and change I have been working with young people, literally working with grassroots young people, both male and females. And all of a sudden on my eighth year allegations, an allegation of rape came up. That’s very crucial.”
Jacqueline Woods
“How has this affected your career, as well as your family?”
Douglas Hyde
“Let me start with my family. It was affected my family dramatically. Here you had a role model in your family and this allegation came up and it’s more like people attacking from the outside to the family. But my family and my in-laws and some of my friends have stood by my side and stood with each other during this whole process. It’s been very tedious, one year and one month and two weeks, been very tedious, but we fought it together and that was the strength of the family. Work-wise it’s going to be a challenge in the sense of getting back to where I was. There are some factors that definitely won’t change. Our society view rapists as once a rapist always a rapist and my campaign now is to try to clear up myself, clear my name, get back that character that people trust and people knew that person about. That’s my major campaign, trying to get back to work.”
Hyde says the young woman went to see him about a conflict resolution programme.
