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Sex abuse survivor reveals shock after garda she ‘confided in’ is arrested over alleged rape

‘That is going to put victims off coming forward … of course it is. It’s massively damaging’

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News that a former senior garda who investigated sex crimes has been arrested on suspicion of rape has “massively damaged trust’ in An Garda Síochána – a survivor of sexual abuse said yesterday.

Shaneda Daly said she met with the former senior officer on a number of occasions.

“I was stunned when I learned he had been arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault,” Shaneda told the Sunday World yesterday.

“It felt like the ground had been taken out from underneath me.

“This is someone to whom I confided my concerns about my own abuser after he was released from prison and moved into an apartment overlooking a creche.”

She added: “He made me feel my dad was being monitored at all times.

“And this morning I found out that this same officer has now been arrested for rape and sexual assault … you can’t imagine how I feel about that.”

After Shaneda’s father, prison officer Harry Daly, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in 2011 for sexually abusing her, she set up the organisation Survivors Side by Side, which enables victims to communicate with each other.

Shaneda said she and the organisation’s other administrators are now bracing themselves for serious upset and concern among members as news spreads of the officer’s arrest on Friday.

“Trust is such a massive thing for survivors of abuse,” she said.

“Obviously this individual has not been convicted of anything but he has been arrested on suspicion of rape.

“That is going to put victims off coming forward … of course it is. It’s massively damaging.”

The Sunday World understands that, since his retirement, the officer had taken up charity work.

One charity with which he is involved refused yesterday to state whether he has been suspended pending the outcome of the current Garda investigation.

The Sunday World left text messages and a voicemail with the charity’s head of communications throughout the day but these communications elicited no response of any kind.

The former senior garda was released from custody on Friday evening following his detention at a south inner city Garda station.

He had been arrested earlier in the day to be quizzed by specialist detectives on allegations of rape and sexual assault.

The former officer was later released without charge.

“This male has been released from detention. Investigations are ongoing and a file will be prepared for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions,” a Garda spokesman said.

During his career with An Garda Síochána, the former officer was involved in many cases where he investigated multiple high-profile sexual abuse cases.

It is understood that the investigation into the allegations that resulted in his arrest have been ongoing for over a year.

A Garda spokesperson confirmed the arrest and said that the man was arrested for “alleged offences contrary to the Criminal Law (Rape) Amendment Act 1990.”

In a statement the Garda Press Office also confirmed that the man was a former member of An Garda Síochána but said he is now a private citizen.

He was detained under Section 4 of Criminal Justice Act which allowed that he could be questioned for up to 24 hours.

Senior sources said that the news of the man’s arrest has sent “shockwaves” through An Garda Síochána.

“Many members of all ranks are shocked about this arrest,” one source said.

The former officer served at a senior level in An Garda Síochána for many years.