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THE FIVE GARDAÍ who were at the centre of the Corrib ‘rape tape’ controversy are unlikely to face criminal charges.
The controversy arose when several members of the force were allegedly recorded threatening to rape and deport a woman who had been arrested during protests over the Corrib gas project in Mayo in April.
The woman – Jerrie Ann Sullivan - waived her anonymity during a press conference, and the Gardaí involved were assigned to desk duty pending an investigation.
A spokesperson for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) has told TheJournal.ie that a report on the incident has been sent to the Minister for Justice, who will be obliged to publish it present it to the Oireachtas.
The Public Interest Investigation has not yet concluded, but the GSOC has received an interim progress report and has directed that certain matters warrant continued investigation.
RTÉ reports that of the five, three have been totally cleared, while two may face further action. It’s understood that while an investigation is ongoing, it does now focus on two members of the Gardaí.
The spokesperson also said that, given the public interest nature of the incident, it is likely that details of all five Gardaí will be sent forward to the Garda Commissioner to decide if any further action will be taken.
Caoimhe Kerins, spokesperson for the Shell to Sea group has told TheJournal.ie that she never expected criminal proceedings to be taken against the Gardaí. She said that “while what they did was disgusting and totally unacceptable, it didn’t contravene any criminal legislation in this country”.
She said that it was her understanding that two Gardaí had already been excluded from the investigation, but was not aware that a third had now been cleared.
Kerins said that the group does expect that serious disciplinary action will be taken:
The idea that one of those Gardaí that were making the comments about raping women would be allowed to resume normal work is upsetting. We want more than just a slap on the wrist.
Kerins also said that the woman at the centre of the controversy, Jerrie Ann Sullivan, is now “doing fine” and has returned to her studies.
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My God, yes it was distasteful but do we really need to prosecute those involved. Build a feckin bridge!
Damn right they won’t. Anyone who heard the tape will appreciate the context, regardless of how distasteful and unprofessional it was.
This is an internal matter for the Gardaí and the individuals should be disciplined accordingly within that system. This is not a criminal matter.
As usual, women blow it way out of proportion. Everyone knows that rape is a terrible thing, but to want these guards to lose their jobs over comments they that were said in jest and in private is ridiculous
Jesus, sexist much?
“As usual, men making distasteful comments about women.”
To be fair Liam, if I was in the back of a car full of men and heard them mention the word ‘rape’, I would be terrified, so I hardly think it’s women blowing things out of proportion, so i think that comment was a tad insensitive.
The two female prisoners were not in the same car as the gardai that spoke on the video.
Here’s what I think is the context – the first thing these women did when approached initially was to scream ‘Ye’re not gonna arrest us and bring us back to the station and rape us!’ at the Guards. They were then relieved of their camera, and the Guards took it away.
The guards were recorded making jokes about rape, but the jokes were made about the women claiming that if they were arrested they would be raped, the topic was not initiated by the Guards.
Subsequently the video was altered to edit out the ladies initial accusation, leaving the guards looking like they had brought up the topic and made jokes about it, for no apparent reason…
Make sense to anyone? just my informed opinion…
Tape was proved to be tampered with to make it look as bad as it can for the gardai involved! Crusties involved now should be prosecuted for the above….simples!!!! Case closed, move on lads!! Gardai innocent in it all as per usual
are we really surprised that a guard isn’t going to face justice?
How do you dispense justice to someone who hasn’t actually committed a crime?
When one looks at that fellow Arthur Conroy, who was well connected with the Gardaí, who was caught with 18kgs of Coke, valued at 3 million, and a coke processing plant in his garage, yet gets no jail time. Guards are above the law, and they know it and abuse it. If you think that the Church here is rotten and hypocritical, then wait till you see what will come out about the guards. A profoundly bent force. Regarding this I do agree that this was not a criminal matter, but the Guards involved should be punished internally.
To be fair it was €138k not €3million and people get similar sentences every week. The problem there falls on the justice system, not the arresting guards.
Aaron. It was valued at 3 million when seized, it was 18kgs of Coke. The valuation of 138k was given in the court by the guard. It was done to make it sound less serious. You do not have to be in the Drug Squad or an RTE presenter to know that 18kgs of coke does not go for that little. One only has to look at the Cloyne report for this week’s evidence of bent guards. What will it be next week, and the week after etc etc ad nauseum.
Yes, because they seem to be in court every day of the week. Is that not facing justice?
Rte are now reporting that the tape recording was tampered with before the complaint was made. It will be interesting to see who did this and to what end.
Not the gardai anyway otherwise they would have deleted the whole lot of it!!!
Fantastic news and best outcome for all involved. This was a crazy story blown way out of proportion. Lets hope they dont stick a recorder in the office i work in or half the firm would be sacked for comments. Leftys 0 – Normal Society 1…… :)
Tampered with? Nonsense. Just a joke? Irrelevant. Women who have been raped have to go to gardai to report it. They’re unlikely to be encouraged if they hear that guards are joking about it. Let these guys off – has this country learned nothing about brushing things under the carpet?
Tape PROVEN to be tampered with. End of…….
By the way, writing words in capitals like ‘PROVEN’ does not make it fact. Are we to believe that you are shouting that word? Damn it, if only I’d known earlier in life that if I typed something with caps lock on it would be true. Imagine something like ‘I have won the lottery, FACT.’ Now to just sit back and wait for those millions to roll in. Idiot. Read the Irish times piece. Explains it so that even people like you may understand.
Are we ranting now??? Clearly you have wasted days and days holding up a placard “down with that sort of thing” in corrib the blood has drained from your brain into ur hands…and we are to believe what is said in a paper???? Now who’s the idiot. Again I say it’s proven it was tampered with therefore a fictitious accusation. END OFF… And I’m shouting that idiot
Notice how it’s all men who think it’s all blown out of proportion , how would you feel if they were talking about your wife or girlfriend or sister or mother, would it still just be a private joke? I doubt it, these are the people we are supposed to turn to when we are in trouble I think they are a disgrace.
Tape proven to be tampered with by shell to sea. Therefore all this is bull!! Move on
It’s being reported that it was edited (as in segments cut out) by at NUIM – to protect other sources – as it common practice in research.
The tape is therefore extracts – to say that it was tampered with implies that what was said, wasn’t said. It was … end of!
This country is a joke and the laws are no better and this will be brushed under the carpet by the Irish People like when the preists were rapping the children of this country does not say much for the human race does it .
Fact – tape was not tampered with. Section after rape comments that guards made was removed as it contained comments that sgt James gill made about another local man who its now considering legal action against gill also. For data protection reasons this section could not be passed onto gsoc. Full factual story here: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0728/breaking63.html by all means read instead of clicking childish ‘thumbs-up or thumbs down’ icons.
Rant rant rant rant rant…..proven to be edited and therefore fictitious accusation!! End of story….move on and rant about something else
With apologies if I am seen to be letting the sisterhood down, but the more I read about this case, the more my sympathies lie with the Gardai. I certainly wouldnt want to have their job.
It seems to me entirely plausible that the women arrested were hurling abuse at the guards and that they may even have introduced the R- word.
Even if they did, it reflects poorly on the Guards to (a) not have the sense to turn off the camera (b) to be joking about something as serious as rape. We also need to remember that the arrested women were unaware of the “jokes” until after they had left custody and had been given their camera back. The disc tampering stuff only muddies the water.
It is to no-ones credit that this sorry saga has been played out in the media.
If those arrested were really concerned about Gardai behaviour, they would have brought the matter to Garda Ombudsman and not splashed it over the media. If the Gardai were guilty, it presents another obstacle to getting women to report rape and sexual assault ; if the Gardai were “joking” about the Women’s rape claim, it exaggerates an indiscretion and will present another reason for women not to report rape and sexual assault.
Further investigation will not help uphold respect for the Gardai, advance the cause of Shell to Sea or reassure women that rape claims will be taken seriously. It will divert precious resource from investigating live rape cases which is the only effective way of demonstrating that society cares.
Paige
The Gardaí are not ordinary citizens. They are meant to uphold the law. Making comments like that reflects very badly on the force – in any other northern European country this would be a resigning matter. There is a sense that the Gardaí are rarely made accountable for their actions – the last Governments awkward decision to not have a truly independent complaints procedure is out of line with European best practice and does not instil confidence.
My view, for what it’s worth, is that Ireland remains a very male dominated society, one which does not embrace equality in any real sense. Equality has limped in here and we pat ourselves on the back for having the Equality Authority, Civil Partnership, Equal Pay and so on – the majority of equality legislation stems from Europe in one shape form or another, rather than growing out of any republican ideals (egalite, fraternite, liberte – not Sinn Fein!).
The comments above seem to trivialise what has happened like everything’s fine and there’s nothing to answer for. We have every right to have the highest expectations of the Gardaí and when they don’t live up to that, no lenience should be given. Too many times that Gardaí have been seen to manage riot/protest situations very badly and unprofessionally – I’m thinking here of the riots at Landsdowne Road, Robocop and the shambolic management of the love Ulster parade situation.
A more professional attitude and greater respect is needed in a modern police force. That will only come if we the public demand it, rather than treat the police as if they’re just the lads down the pub …
U must be typing this from a crusty camp or prison cell Peter. Read d comments d majority rules in favour of d cops. Now back to your tree house :)
These hippy anarchist types should now be prosecuted for wasting Garda time and resources and the Garda involved should have no record of this on their files. time wasting hippies should go get themselves a job.
Man gets 2yrs in jail for threatening to kill, gardai don’t even get threatened with court for sayin he’d rape a woman. Hardly justice even in this corrupt state
But there is evidence, two gardai were found to have made the comments, the Commission just doesn’t believe it is a case worthy of prosecution.
The sign your one in the photograph says “Rape is not a joke.”
So does this mean that the protesters want people to lose their jobs/careers and have possible criminal charges brought against them because they don’t have the same sense of humour as themselves?
Welcome to the Republic of shell they call the shots , end of story.
Too many people with too many opinions. Peter all those “events” you have mentioned, where you actually there??? Seeing colleagues injured, managing a well organised republican crowd who where hell bent on rioting that day??? Where you at corrib?? Where you at landsowne road?? It’s very easy for everyone to type away on their mac book in Dublin 4 sucking on their silver spoons. I dare anyone to be brave enough to stand up and protect every single one of ye everyday. When your life is in danger, ring 999 and and gardai will be out no matter what time, day, hail, rain….always. You try to that job. I bet you couldn’t
No Alan they don’t always help you. When my children’s father lay dying on the floor of his mothers house and the ambulance was stuck because of the snow and my brother in law ran across the road to the police station looking for help and they just shrugged their shoulders, you tell my 3 young children as they stand at their fathers grave that the police will always help you.
That won’t happen for a while, they’ve stopped recruiting, couldn’t afford the stinking badges.
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