Courts / Waterford / Report
Social workers failed to inform gardai that abuse accusations had been withdrawn
Summary
In a 2016 trial in Waterford, a jury heard that social workers failed to inform Gardaí that a boy had withdrawn allegations of sexual abuse by his parents. The boy had told a social worker in February 2015 that the claims—he was raped with a poker and forced to have sex with his mother—were "not real." Defence counsel Colman Cody SC argued that the retractions only reached Gardaí and the defence after a barrister discovered them in the child protection agency's files. Gardaí re‑interviewed the boy in February 2016 after learning of the retraction, and he then admitted the abuse had occurred. The parents faced 22 counts, with the father charged with nine counts of rape, nine counts of rape with a poker and one count of cruelty, and the mother charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of cruelty. Both pleaded not guilty.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Social workers failed to inform gardai that abuse accusations had been withdrawn. Charges or matters: the allegations which are alleged to have occurred between 2007 and 2011 in their Waterford home. Procedural stage: trial
When:
- February 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
- February 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2007 and 2011 Incident
- 2016-05-17 Publication
Why: During this interview, the child said the sexual abuse did happen and he had only said it didn't because he didn't want to go through with the trial. CNI source report
Case subjects
Accused
Charges: the allegations which are alleged to have occurred between 2007 and 2011 in their Waterford home (Alleged Or Contested)
Plea: Not guilty
Places mentioned
Topics
Sexual Offences Stage Trial Violent Crime
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