Courts / Ireland / Report

Welfare of children paramount, specialist garda interviewer tells family abuse trial

Summary

In a child‑abuse trial, a specialist Garda interviewer defended the time taken to interview children who were alleged to have been abused by parents, aunts, uncles and a grandmother. The interviewer's involvement began at the end of 2016, with meetings of the complainants in June and July 2017 and recorded interviews in August 2017. She explained that the best practice is to interview children as soon as possible, but that the timing must be guided by the child's medical and psychological background. She noted that the Gardaí liaised with Tusla for months and that Tusla reported the children were showing emotional and behavioural issues. The Garda said the welfare of the children was paramount and that the children were severely traumatised. She denied steering any child's answers and said she only responded to what the children told her. The case against the grandmother was withdrawn by the judge, who directed that she be found not guilty.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Welfare of children paramount, specialist garda interviewer tells family abuse trial. Procedural stage: finding. Findings: Acquitted

When:

• August 2017 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2021-06-15 Publication

Why: The garda said children would often "drip-feed" disclosures to adults in order to see how they react. CNI source report

Case subjects

Topics

Stage Finding

Read the original CNI report