The complainant claimed to have first made the allegations to his wife around 1975. Southwell says: "As to motive, ... extensive enquiries made on behalf of the respondent (Pell) have unearthed no evidence of any other matter or incident which might have aroused spite or malice on the part of the complainant towards either the respondent or the Church. On the other hand, the respondent has had a strong motive to push memory (if there ever was memory) of these fleeting incidents by a 19 year old into the recesses of the mind, from which there could be no recall."Report of an inquiry into an allegation of sexual abuse against Archbishop George Pell, Commissioner Hon. A.J. Southwell, 2002, p.9. Southwell found no evidence that the complaint was made through vindictiveness or desire for compensation.
