UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian
Matthew Weaver
Thursday 5 February 2015
The New Zealand judge appointed to be the third head of the troubled investigation into historical allegations of child abuse has confirmed that she will consider looking into cases as far back as 1945 and that the inquiry could last four years.
Justice Lowell Goddard said there was a balance to be struck between the need for a thorough investigation and making it manageable and timely. But in radio interviews she confirmed that she would consider claims going back before 1970 – the cut-off point of previous inquiries.
Speaking to Radio New Zealand, Goddard said: “I believe there are some persons involved in this who are survivors of abuse who would like to see it go back to the end of world war II and the beginning of the welfare state. The breadth of the inquiry is something that will need to be seriously discussed when I get to England. Clearly, people want to have the experiences they have suffered exorcised. It is a question too of making the inquiry manageable … and outline the way forward in a relatively timely way. But I’m under no illusion that this will take several years.”
Asked how long, she said: “The indication I have been given is three years, possibility into a fourth. I can’t predict anything further than that at this stage.”
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