A solicitor is at the centre of a criminal investigation after she allegedly smuggled a mobile phone into a prison for a convicted rapist.
The solicitor, who is attached to a legal practice with offices in Dublin and in a regional location, has been arrested and may face criminal charges.
Security sources said there was no obvious reason why the woman would allegedly pass the phone to the notorious sex offender but if convicted she potentially faces a prison sentence and the end of her career.
While the case was only now emerging in the public domain, the offence dates back more than 12 months.
The Irish Times understands the female solicitor is alleged to have passed the phone to the sex offender in a prison outside Dublin last year.
When the prisoner was caught with the phone in the jail some time later he was interviewed by the prison authorities as part of their investigation into the find.
He volunteered the solicitor’s name as the person who supplied him with the phone.
Gardaí were informed and after conducting the first part of the criminal investigation detectives approached the solicitor with the allegation.
She was arrested and has given a full statement to investigating gardaí.
The Garda investigation has since continued, with a file prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Security sources said it was unlikely any decision would be made until the New Year on whether the solicitor would be charged.
The smuggling of a mobile phone into prison is regarded as a serious offence, especially in light of the security measures the Irish Prison Service have put in place to prevent contraband such as drugs, mobile phones and weapons reaching prisoners.
Mobile phones are regarded with such seriousness in the prison setting because they have been used in the past to direct crime in the community and to organise drug smuggling into jails.
