‘key member’ | 

Sinn Féin rocked by probe into alleged child sex offences involving former Stormont aide

The man, who was a key member of the party’s backroom team at both the Northern Ireland Assembly and Westminster, has been charged with several serious offences.

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Sinn Fein has been rocked by an investigation into alleged child sex offences involving a former employee at Stormont.

The man, who was a key member of the party’s backroom team at both the Northern Ireland Assembly and Westminster, has been charged with several serious offences.

The accused, who is in his 40s, was working for Sinn Fein at the Assembly when the offences are alleged to have taken place.

Sinn Fein said yesterday the man was “immediately suspended” after his arrest.

The case is due to come before a court for the first time this week.

The man worked at the Assembly and Westminster for several years

He is accused of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity online.

He also faces a charge of communicating with a child online for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification.

He is further accused of attempting to get a child to look at an image of a person engaging in sexual activity.

The offences are alleged to have taken place on dates between May 2020 and August 2021.

During that period, the man was working for Sinn Fein at Stormont.

There is no indication yet where the alleged communication with the child took place or if Assembly equipment was used during the interactions.

A Sinn Fein spokesperson told the Sunday World the man was “immediately suspended” from his employment and membership of the party some time ago as soon as the party became aware of his arrest.

It is not known when the man was first arrested.

The Sinn Fein spokesperson added: “The PSNI has not made contact with Sinn Fein about this investigation. Anyone with information that can assist the investigation should bring it to the police.”

The Northern Ireland Assembly was asked if it had been contacted by police in relation to the case.

In response, a spokesperson said the Assembly did not comment on PSNI investigations.