Courts / Wicklow / Report
File on case of alleged abuse victim not sent to DPP, forgery trial hears
Summary
During a forgery trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, an alleged victim of clerical sexual abuse, a 44‑year‑old woman from Wicklow, testified that she was upset when she learned a file on her case had never been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). She recounted that in the 1980s she was abused by a local curate and that she had met Detective Garda Catherine McGowan in 2005 and again in 2007 to discuss the matter. McGowan had informed her that the DPP had received the file and would not prosecute. The victim said she was shocked, had a breakdown, and considered suicide. In 2011 a special task force discovered the file had not been forwarded to the DPP; it was finally sent in summer 2011, but the DPP directed no prosecution. The trial, presided over by Judge Mary Ellen Ring, continues with a jury of twelve. Catherine McGowan pleaded not guilty.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: File on case of alleged abuse victim not sent to DPP, forgery trial hears. Charges or matters: one count of forgery on January 15, 2009 at Bray Garda Station and two counts of using a false instrument at Bray Garda Station and at Harcourt Street Garda Station between June 21 and 22, 2011. Procedural stage: trial
When:
- January 15, 2009 Other
- June 21 Other
- January 14, 2009 Other
- February 2006 Hearing Or Sentence
- March 2007 Hearing Or Sentence
- September 2009 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2015-02-24 Publication
Case subjects
Applicant
Charges: one count of forgery on January 15, 2009 at Bray Garda Station and two counts of using a false instrument at Bray Garda Station and at Harcourt Street Garda Station between June 21 and 22, 2011 (Alleged Or Contested)
Plea: Not guilty
Places mentioned
- is based at Bray Garda Station
- Bray
- at Bray Garda Station
- false instrument at Bray Garda Station
- and at Harcourt Street Garda Station
- Harcourt Street
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
Topics
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