Gsoc probes claim gardai shielded officer from sex assault charge

Sunday September 20 2020, 12.01am BST, The Sunday Times

The Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) has launched an investigation into claims that gardai conspired to shield an officer from prosecution for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl by withholding evidence from the director of public prosecutions.

The victim, now in her thirties, has alleged she was sexually assaulted after she fell asleep at a house party in Wicklow in 2002. She awoke up to find an older man removing her clothes and attempting to engage her in sexual activity.

She was taken to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, and later referred to a counselling service for psychological assessment after her parents reported the incident to gardai. They identified a 23-year-old officer stationed in south Dublin as the prime suspect. A file was sent to the DPP/