Complaint over Garda handling of sex abuse case

A Kilkenny father who claims his adult daughter took her own life because of sexual abuse she suffered as a child will today submit a complaint to the Garda Ombudsman Commission about the Garda's handling of the case.

David Roberts is calling on the ombudsman to investigate alleged delays by gardaí which, he claims, contributed to the failure of the State to initiate criminal proceedings against his daughter's abuser.

He won a landmark civil lawsuit earlier this year when he successfully sued a neighbour for causing the wrongful death of his daughter by sexually abusing her as a child. But he is "very angry" that the DPP has decided not to undertake a criminal prosecution.

Mr Roberts, Gathabawn, Co Kilkenny, sued his neighbour, John Bowden, for the wrongful death of his daughter, Jane, who died by suicide at the age of 26 in October 2000. He took the civil case because the DPP did not initiate criminal proceedings against Mr Bowden.

During the trial, Mr Bowden, through his legal team, admitted the abuse and apologised, but denied that he was responsible for the death of Jane Roberts.

In July, at Clonmel Circuit Court, Judge Alice Doyle ruled that Jane Roberts's death by suicide was a direct result of the psychological injury caused by the abuse. The judge awarded Mr Roberts €25,395.

Mr Roberts' solicitor, Michael Lanigan, subsequently wrote to the DPP requesting that the matter of a criminal prosecution should be reopened.

However, Mr Roberts has since been informed that the State will not undertake a criminal prosecution because of "the passage of time since the original decision not to prosecute".