The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission this week recommended that disciplinary proceedings be taken against only one of the gardaí who were the subject of it’s investigation into the so-called ‘Corrib rape tape’. The Ombudsman report also outlined that a Garda sergeant who was caught speaking on the recording had retired from the force and was not subject to disciplinary proceedings any more.
The gardaí were investigated for potential criminal offences under the misconduct in public office laws, but the Ombudsman had found that there was no grounds for any criminal case following his investigation.
The incident occurred on March 31, 2011 at Aughoos in Erris when a digital camera seized by one of two female protesters arrested was not turned off and inadvertently recorded the conversation of the gardaí on their way back to the Garda station in Belmullet.
Jerrie Ann Sullivan, one of the women who made the recording public, hit out at the finding saying that the Ombudsman investigation from the start was about “protecting An Garda Síochána”. She added: “I'm not at all surprised at the news, considering how An Garda Síochána, the Garda Ombudsman, and Alan Shatter have handled this incident and the Corrib project generally. No garda has ever been disciplined over policing of Corrib.”
