Why should people believe that Hollie is telling the truth?
Hollie has named in all 22 people who abused her including her father and brother and the headmaster of the special needs school where she was a pupil for 12 years. She has also named 7 fellow-victims of the abuse. The fact that she is Down’s Syndrome which made her so particularly vulnerable and unable to defend herself as a child is ironically one of the strongest elements in her defence now. As anyone who works with or is close to DS people knows they are unable to lie or make things up, they can only recount what they have actually experienced; they have photographic or you might say cinematic memories. By the same token they find it very hard to ‘blot out’ unpleasant memories, which is why Hollie still clearly remembers everything that happened to her, including names and places and other details. The police who interviewed her had to admit she was a credible witness. Although she has the usual handicaps suffered by DS people including poor sight and hearing and an enlarged tongue
