Ellie kidnap case delayed again - judges accept two new witnesses on sentencing day

Filipe Silva, the Algarve businessman on trial for abducting and hiding his daughter Ellie for seven months, was meant to be sentenced today, but the conclusion of the legal proceedings was postponed.

Faro Court now has set aside June 24th for what hopefully is the final hearing in the trial for the kidnapping of Ellie Silva in September 2012 after a period of parental access.

In yet another delay in a case that shows favouritism on an extraordinary scale, Silva’s lawyer managed to persuade the court that new witnesses’ should be heard. This is in defence of 43 'new facts' that the judges now consider relevant and which were not included in the original proscution which for some reason was 'poorly drafted.'

Today was meant to be sentencing day with Silva facing up to ten years in jail, but the court accepted that two of the three new witnesses should be heard on June 24th, despite the trial being to all intents and purposes, over.

The last sentencing delay on May 20th was due to the judges still ‘considering the facts.’
 
This latest delay and the decision to accept new witnesses serves only to increase fears that the proven level of collusion by the Portuguese judicial authorities in helping Silva may have infected the legal process itself. The other opinion is that the judges are keen to ensure that every base is covered and that there are no grounds for appeal. Either way, the case drags on with Silva still at liberty.

This was the same Faro court where a magistrate knew of Ellie’s whereabouts during her abduction and was feeding a Silva family member information about every move being taken in the hunt for the girl.

Filipe Silva’s lawyer also knew where Ellie was being held but did nothing to alert the authorities despite a nationwide search underway.  

In the first session of the trial, defence witnesses said that Filipe Silva, a well-off businessman who has failed to pay a cent in child support, acted out of desperation and did not want his daughter to move to Ireland. Silva now is on legal aid with the taxpayer supporting his defence as he claims to be broke.

Ellie’s mother, Candice said in court, by video-link from Ireland, that her daughter was "deeply marked" by the period in which she was held by her natural father in Oporto, was undergoing daily therapy and has been suffering from anxiety with troubled sleep and low self-confidence.

Filipe Silva, throughout the kidnap and trial has been able to use the system to the full, but when the judges do finally sentence the local man, will they play fair and see through the lies and deception that has marked this long and often harrowing case? Certainly the delay could be to ensure there are no grounds for appeal.

Candice Gannon and her husband have been successful in providing a stable family life for Ellie and her brothers. 'Never setting foot on Portuguese soil again' is but one wish on a long list. The couple issued a statement today before yet another sentencing delay was announced.

Comparing Silva's treatment by the authorities to the treatment of Paulo Guiomar, another father in a high-profile Algarve kidnap, the couple highlighted the extremely favourable treatment that Silva has been allowed.

The former Maritime Policeman, Gondomar was “remanded in custody when captured and given three years in prison when sentenced,” but “when Silva was captured, he was given full visitation rights and a trial for full custody by the Faro Family court,” read the Gannon statement.

Ellie and her family are settled in Ireland but again are forced to endure another delay before justice is done.