Gardaí urged to use all available resources to catch attacker
THE CEO of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has urged gardaí to use all resources available to them to catch a violent attacker who repeatedly raped a Spanish teenager last weekend.
Noeline Blackwell called on gardaí to investigate the horrific rape as thoroughly and as quickly as possible.
“We are absolutely clear at the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre that the gardaí must have the resources they need to investigate this properly and they must investigate it as effectively and as thoroughly as they can,” she told the Irish Independent.
Ms Blackwell added that it was imperative that the usual legal process be followed.
“Having said that, they brought in a suspect and questioned the suspect, then released him.
“That is all the person is at this stage – a suspect. We have to be very careful to recognise that you are innocent until you’re proven guilty,” she said.
“Everyone has to recognise that the legal process has to be followed.
“So while we urge the gardaí to investigate this with all speed and all the resources they need, we also recognise that the legal system is one that the person is innocent until proven guilty and a process has to be followed.
“They need to go through the same legal process as they would with any other case; we would just ask they do it quickly and efficiently and as thoroughly as the case deserves,” she added.
Meanwhile, Senator Kevin Humphreys has spoken about the sense of fear engulfing the local community in the area where the terrifying attack took place.
Senator Humphreys described the incident as “shocking”.
He said there was now an anxiety among locals for the culprit to be caught by gardaí as soon as possible.
Unnerved
“Talking to people since the incident, they’re worried, they are very unnerved by it,” Mr Humphreys told the Irish Independent.
“People of my age would be worried about their daughters. I’m nervous as to how it happened.”
The senator added that the nature park near where the attack took place is one of the most popular in the city.
He said locals are fearful of walking there alone.
“The community is quite nervous that the culprit is found, there is a concern now that nobody is caught,” he said.
“Hopefully, the gardaí can close this soon,” he added.