The Supreme Court has upheld an order prohibiting the prosecution of a woman for two alleged offences connected to a 1988 assault on her father, dismissing an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The woman was 15 when the alleged offences took place. She was arrested and charged in December 2011, more than 23 years after the incident. The High Court had barred the trial, finding significant, blameworthy delay by the prosecution authorities. The Supreme Court affirmed that decision and dismissed the DPP’s appeal.
The case arose from an attack by four men at the family home in Dublin in May 1988. The woman’s father suffered serious head injuries and died later that year. The men pleaded guilty to charges arising from the assault and were sentenced in 1989. Statements by two of them implicated the woman, who was not charged until 2011. The allegations against her were not determined in the proceedings before the Supreme Court.
The DPP argued that the seriousness of the alleged offences and the public interest in prosecution justified a trial despite the delay. It also submitted that the woman had evaded Gardaí and that any concerns about her age when the alleged offences occurred could be considered at sentencing if the case reached that stage. The woman argued that the delay was culpable, that she had not concealed her identity, and that the State had breached its special duty to deal with alleged child offenders promptly.
The Supreme Court found that the delay was significant, blameworthy and not attributable to the woman. It accepted the High Court’s finding that she had lived openly, including after returning to Ireland in 2004. The Court noted that she was unaware of the decision to prosecute her when she moved to England with her mother in 1989.
The Court also addressed Garda affidavits that denied her maiden name appeared on her passport. The High Court had found the passport bore an annotation recording her birth name, and the Supreme Court shared its concern about the incorrect statements. It said affidavits are sworn evidence and must be accurate and not misleading.
The Court held that a delay of more than 23 years breached the special duty owed to a person who was a child at the time of the alleged offences. It also considered the additional delay after Gardaí located her in County Cavan in 2010, and the loss of protections associated with being tried as a child. While acknowledging the seriousness of the charges and the public interest in prosecution, it found those factors were outweighed by the delay and the disparity between her age then and as an adult facing trial.
The Court concluded that the combined circumstances were wholly exceptional. It affirmed the High Court order prohibiting the trial and dismissed the DPP’s appeal. It did not decide whether the woman committed the alleged offences.