Bruce Russell Caporn, a 48-year-old rock climbing instructor in Perth, Australia, was acquitted last week of allegedly molesting a 14-year-old girl while he was putting a harness on her.
Last November 12, 2010, Caporn, who worked for the Armadale Police and Citizens Youth Club, was running a portable climbing wall at a school open day to allow 250 children to try climbing. The girl later accused Caporn of rubbing his hands on the insides of her upper thighs, saying, "It made me feel uncomfortable, it was unnecessary" and was "long enough to be a deliberate rub."
She also said that Caporn had talked to her and a friend before putting harnesses on them. She said he had told her that she had the same hair and eye color as his ex-wife and added that the ex had a "nasty bite." She said that she exchanged looks with her girlfriend, saying, "We looked at each other like friends do when strangers are a bit weird." She said that Capron also remarked that she was "very thin."
After climbing the girl said she took off the harness and told a teacher that Bruce Capron was "very weird" and that he had stroked her thighs.
Amazingly enough, based on this evidence, Bruce Caporn was arrested and charged with two counts of child molestation, and was then put on trial a few weeks ago. Caporn denied the charges from the beginning. A jury in Perth district court agreed with Caporn and acquitted him of both charges.
Under cross-examination by lawyer Terry Dobson, the girl admitted in court that Caporn had never actually touched her skin or clothing and that his hands were always on the harness straps while he tightened them down.
After being acquitted Caporn said he would never work with children again and that he had just been through "nine months of hell." He also told Perth Now, "I don't think there was malice in it. I can't recall the girl or the incident. So I can't even say why I think she did it. And I would not want to speculate. The police should have investigated it more thoroughly and it should have been resolved before it even went to court. It should not have taken nine months to sort out."
I agree. The charges seem unfounded. If you've ever put a climbing harness on another person, it can be a sort of intimate adventure. As a professional climbing guide with Front Range Climbing Company in Colorado Springs, I am always extremely careful when putting harnesses on the boys and girls that we take climbing, especially those in large groups.
To avoid this sort of unpleasant situation and accusation, I prefer to demonstrate to the children how to put on the harness and then have them buddy up and put them on each other. Afterward, the other guides and I will double-check to make sure that the leg loops fit properly, the harness buckle is doubled back, and that the harness fits snugly.
I'm sure Bruce Caporn was just doing his job and making sure that the girl and the other children were properly wearing the climbing harnesses and was putting their safety foremost. When you are putting harnesses on other people, it's a fact that they are going to be touched or that the harness is going to rub against their skin if they're wearing shorts.
It's too bad that he was accused of such a foul crime and forced to defend himself against what ended up being a baseless accusation while real child molesters still freely roam about seeking victims.
Photograph above: Bruce Caporn and partner Kerri Blakeman after being acquitted of harness molestation charges. Photograph courtesy Perth Now.
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