A second report into incidents of sexual abuse in Ard Greine Court, a disability centre in Donegal, has sparked fears that further allegations of assault will be uncovered.
The first report detailed 108 separate incidents of sexual abuse perpetrated by a resident in the centre, given the pseudonym “Brandon”.
The assaults were carried out between 2003 and 2016 when the perpetrator was transferred to a private nursing home. Upwards of 18 intellectually disabled adults were victims of the residence, the majority of them being non-verbal. An alleged rape was also included in the report.
The initial investigation, carried out by the National Independent Review Panel, was released in December 2021 and although its time frame was limited to between 2003 and 2018, there were earlier recordings of abuse.
The first occurred in 1997 when “Brandon” had his hands on another resident’s genitals. Three further assaults occurred before the end of 2002. These earlier records indicate that the resident’s behaviour had been known to management before 2003, according to the report.
The allegations of abuse, and the HSE’s mismanagement of same, only came to light in 2016 when a local TD, Thomas Pringle, was approached by a whistleblower.
A second “validation report”, arising from a follow-up investigation, has reportedly been published internally by the HSE. Many fear this report will uncover more incidents of abuse at the centre. The HSE has commented that it is in contact with those impacted by the follow-up report and is working to implement its recommendations.
