No gardaí neglected their duty but a “systems failure” in the force was to blame for a botched investigation into the alleged rape of an eight-year-old girl, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) has found.
The case collapsed in 2014 following a lengthy delay and nine Garda members were investigated for potentially neglecting their duty.
However, Gsoc “considered that no Garda member could be singled out and held to account for the delay in this investigation”, and that instead “a serious failure of the system occurred in this case”.
In the case, a woman, Ms A, alleged that during a party in July 2008, the 16-year-old son of a family friend took her daughter, who was eight at the time, into a bathroom, locked the door, and told her to remove her underwear before raping her. The child (Child A) told her mother the following evening and a complaint was made to the Garda. An investigation, led by a sergeant, was launched.
Separately, another woman, Ms B, alleged her seven-year-old daughter (Child B) was sexually abused in 2008 by the same teenager. She said that she reported the matter to the Garda and the child was interviewed.
The day after the incident involving Child A, the alleged perpetrator’s home was searched and he attended a Garda station with his mother where he made a voluntary statement in relation to both children. Ms A said the sergeant leading the case told her the alleged perpetrator would be dealt with under the National Juvenile Liaison Officer scheme, whereby he would be given counselling and then reviewed to see if he had reformed. If not, he would be charged. The investigating sergeant was transferred to another area and the case was not followed up on for a number of years.
Judicial review
In 2011 or 2012, a different sergeant began to investigate the matter and the suspect was charged. The suspect sought a judicial review of the charges in the High Court as a result of the delays, and argued that his rights as a child had been infringed.
Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley granted the application in light of the breach of the special duty imposed upon the prosecution to expedite cases involving juveniles.
The case concluded in January 2014 when the prosecution was prohibited from proceeding. Gsoc found that “within one month of the complaint”, the Garda investigation was almost complete.
The delays occurred when the investigation file tried to move forward through the Garda’s National Juvenile Liaison Office. “A decision which could have been made in a quick timeframe was left for two years,” noted the report.
“There were also several incidents of serious failure of the system in this case, as commented upon by the judicial review.”
