The standard of note-keeping during Garda investigations is to be raised with the force by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) following a complaint about the handling of a child sex abuse investigation into the former Marist Brother, Christopher Cosgrove.
Cosgrove's trial in the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin collapsed in May 2013 when it emerged a garda had spoken to several alleged victims not involved in the case, but failed to take notes of the conversations, meaning the defence was unable to test them as evidence.
Senior Gsoc investigator Jon Leeman's report on the case has been issued to the complainant, who was one of Cosgrove's alleged victims : "I am proposing to the Ombudsman Commission that it writes to the Garda Síochána and makes observations regarding the standard of note keeping during investigations, and the role of supervisors in relation to same, in an effort to improve policing and reduce complainants."
However, Mr Leeman did not recommend disciplinary action against any gardaí involved.
He also found “unfortunately”, there appeared to be no requirement for gardaí to document all inquiries at the time.
Sex abuse convictions
Cosgrove (71) has convictions for sex abuse dating back to 1966.
He stood trial for a fourth time in May 2013 on 22 counts of indecently assaulting four pupils in his class between 1977 and 1980 in a national school in the midlands.
He was alleged to have beaten the boys before putting them on his knee and abusing them while appearing to comfort them.
On the third day of the trial, Judge Carmel Stewart ordered the jury to find him not guilty due to "fundamental unfairness in the trial process".
The judge ruled that a detective garda (since retired) had failed to record details of conversations he had with some of Cosgrove’s alleged victims.
“To say there is a dearth of the specific in this case would be a gross understatement,” Judge Stewart commented.
She said the details of contacts with potential witnesses and alleged victims were not recorded “except in the garda’s head”, meaning the defence was unable to test this evidence.
Immediately after the trial, one of the alleged victims made a complaint to Gsoc about the Garda investigation.
The victim told The Irish Times it was his impression that “there was as much effort put into this case as into a brawl outside a chipper on a Saturday night”.
Specific guidance
The Gsoc report said the manner in which the detective garda took the victim’s statement was a matter of “some concern”.
The detective said at trial he was not aware of any specific guidance on how to take statements while investigating historic sex abuse cases.
He also confirmed he made no notes throughout the course of the investigation and that he did not write down the names of potential witnesses identified by the victim who complained to Gsoc.
The Gsoc report stated that while such a lack of note-taking “would not be entirely acceptable by today’s standards”, the detective’s approach was not uncommon at the time.
The alleged victim first went to gardaí about Cosgrove in 2005.
In a separate complaint he told Gsoc investigators that when he was waiting to make his statement, two gardaí entered the interview room laughing and told him about an interview they had just conducted relating to a separate sexual abuse case.
The victim alleged this was a deliberate attempt to make him uncomfortable.
Responding, Gsoc stated “Whereas it cannot be discounted that you overheard a conversation about another sexual assault investigation, there is insufficient evidence to support the allegation that this was deliberately designed to have a negative effect on you.”
