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An adult son of the convicted paedophile at the centre of the baby Gammy surrogacy scandal has described his father as an “amazing” man with a “good heart.”
David John Farnell’s son has defended his dad, and has described claims that he and his wife, Wendy, abandoned their Down syndrome son in Thailand but brought his healthy twin sister back to Australia, as “shattering.”
Speaking exclusively to Fairfax Media from Bunbury, the son, who didn’t want to be named, said Mr Farnell is a “good father,” despite reports he spent time in jail for indecently assaulting four young girls between the ages of five and 10 in the 1980s.
Related: Gammy’s father found guilty of further indecent assault
“I can tell you how good of a father my dad was towards us,” he said.
“He’s just got a massive heart. He’s made mistakes, we’ve accepted it… he’s made up for them.
“For everything to be brought back up (is) pretty heartbreaking to be honest.”
Related: Baby Gammy’s surrogate demands return of twin sister
The son, who lives in the same seaside town of Bunbury in Western Australia as his father, is one of three of Mr Farnell’s adult children from his first marriage and says he and his siblings are still “tight” with their father.
“We all live quite close to each other and we’ve all got a strong relationship, even my mother, his ex-wife, regardless of all the stuff that’s happened in the past, we are all real tight,” he said.
Related: Child protection services visit Gammy’s biological parents
“He’s taken 10 years to get his life back on track and he did and he has done so well and this, this has been shattering.”
He went on say that both his father and his wife will be issuing a statement detailing their version of the story soon.
“The statement will cover everything, it will clear everything up,” he said.
Related: Gammy’s surrogate mum may face charges
“You aren’t going to get any information whatsoever out of any family members until dad and Wendy have made their statement.”
“Right now we just have to follow the legal channels and as frustrating as that is, that’s the way it is,” he said.
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