Sexual assault victim angry at justice delays

A middle-aged Wexford woman who was sexually assaulted on the Main Street in broad daylight, has called on the authorities to ensure that prosecution cases are processed without delay to save victims undue distress.

The 55-year old woman said assault cases in particular should be dealt with as speedily as possible by the Director of Public Prosecutions because of the emotional and psychological hurt that victims suffer.

Speaking from personal experience, the woman said she was sexually assaulted by in a random attack by an older man at South Main Street at around 12 noon on a date in July 2015.

She went to Wexford Garda Station straight away to report the incident but was informed it would be difficult to proceed because she didn’t know the name of the offender.

Nothing happened for two years during which time the woman was badly affected by the impact of the assault and sought support and counselling from Wexford Rape Crisis.

‘I couldn’t walk down town, I was very nervous. It had a serious effect on my mental health.’

Her counsellor spoke to an officer at Wexford Garda Station who took a statement from the woman in 2017.

Later that year, the woman read a newspaper court report about the man, outlining charges of indecent assault and sexual assault by him against females.

The article was accompanied by a photograph of the accused who pleaded guilty on a number of counts and was sentenced to prison.

A few days before that, she had seen the man on the town and immediately telephoned the Garda Station. The officer who had taken her statement arrived on the scene and she pointed him out who had assaulted her.

The gardai prepared a file which was sent to the DPP but the woman said it took until last January to get a direction and until October 21 last for the case to proceed in court, with the defendant released from prison to attend the hearing.

‘He pleaded not guilty, pretended he never met me and pretended he didn’t remember the garda speaking to him on the street. I gave evidence in court - it was the worst day of my life, it was nerve-wracking,’ the woman said.

The Judge convicted the defendant on the assault and sentenced him to one year in prison, to run concurrent with the sentence already being served.

‘The other women made their statements in 2015. If the system worked, he wouldn’t have been out and able to do what he did to me that same year,’ she said.

‘The issue is, it takes so long for the DPP to give a direction. They can walk out and do it again.’

‘I think the gardai sent off the file in September 2017. I kept ringing the garda station to find out what was happening but there was no direction from the DPP.

‘I kept going to counselling but it was hanging over me. It was on my mind all the time. It’s as if your life is on hold until you can put it behind you. Only for the counselling, I wouldn’t have been able to cope.’

The Wexford mother said she wanted to highlight the issue before the general election, in an attempt to help other women who might have to face the same ordeal in the future.

‘Why would it take so long for the DPP to make a decision? If you didn’t pay a television licence, you’d be prosecuted quickly and if you had a car accident, you’d be brought to court fairly soon afterwards.

‘If this case had been dealt with promptly by the DPP, I would not have had two years of pure mental torture.

‘I think that only for the counselling, I wouldn’t be sitting here today.’

The woman said she related her painful experience of the justice system to a number of candidates in the general election. She thanked the gardai and the Rape Crisis Centre for their support.

‘It must be frustrating for the gardai too. They’re listening to people, knowing what they’re going through,’ she said.

IF THE SYSTEM WORKED, HE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN OUT AND ABLE TO DO WHAT HE DID TO ME THAT SAME YEAR