Sinn Féin councillor Thérèse Ruane has said that the scenes in the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee last week, which have outraged people across the country, underline the need for reform of procedures in the courts service. A large group of people, mostly middle-aged and elderly men, queued up inside the court last Wednesday to shake hands with a man convicted of sexual assault against a 22-year-old woman. They had to pass by the victim as they showed solidarity with the perpetrator.
Cllr Ruane said: “The courtroom scenes in Kerry have sent out a dangerous and very negative signal to victims, especially victims of sexual assault. Women who are the victims of a sexual assault will unfortunately now have cause to stop and think in the wake of this extraordinary display.
“This young woman was in court, surrounded only by a garda and a member of the Rape Crisis Centre as a large body of people, including the local priest, were allowed to embrace and shake hands with the perpetrator just minutes before sentencing him.
“The case underlines the urgent need for reform of procedures in the courts service. As yet there is no courts service protocol in place on whether the public can have access to a prisoner awaiting sentence in a court.
“This needs to change. In cases like this, the needs and the sensitivities of the victim should be paramount. It takes great courage to report cases of rape or sexual assault and bringing such cases to court can be extremely traumatic. We don’t need to make it even more difficult by the type of scenes witnessed in Kerry this week. This young woman has shown great courage bringing this case in a small town like Listowel and again, when she spoke out on Saturday about her traumatic ordeal.
“The Government must ensure that this latest event will not undermine the progress that has been made in bringing perpetrators of sexual assault to justice.”
