SVP volunteer suspended after sexual assault allegation

A man who has been volunteering with The Society of St Vincent de Paul for many years has been suspended after being accused of sexual assault by a woman seeking aid from the charity. The woman contacted the organisation in early 2022 when she faced financial difficulty after a hospitalisation. As she also was suffering from a severe illness, she was required to return to the hospital often for checkups. Public transport was challenging for the woman, so she asked if SVP could contribute towards taxis.

A male volunteer got in touch and invited her to get a coffee with him; he seemed very kind to her, so she didn’t question the invitation. He then collected her from home and dropped her off after the coffee. SVP’s guidelines state that volunteers should travel in pairs if they go to a service user’s home. Despite this, the man repeatedly turned up at her house alone, often without much warning, calling her when he was nearby. On another occasion, he took her out for a meal after noticing she had lost a lot of weight due to stress.

The alleged assault occurred during one of these meetings where the man had asked her to come for coffee. After collecting the coffee, he parked his car. He then thrust his hand between the woman’s legs. As the woman had injured one of her hands and was holding the coffee in the other, she was in a vulnerable position and unable to attempt to defend herself. The man then grabbed her and “stuck his tongue in [her] mouth”.

The woman was highly distressed and started crying, pleading with the man to bring her home. He agreed to bring her home but stated, “I couldn’t help myself; you’re so attractive”. The assault had a severe impact on the victim’s mental health. She described coming home after the attack, stating, “I could taste him in my mouth, I brushed my teeth with bleach. I could taste him in my mouth all the time.” The following day, the man returned to her home without warning. He gave the woman €40, saying, “I’m very sorry for what I have done; I couldn’t help myself”.

Shaken by the exchange, the woman collapsed on the ground. The woman subsequently gave the money to a friend to donate to charity, stating she wanted nothing to do with it. The incident left the woman ashamed and blaming herself, so she chose not to tell anyone. She thought she was a “dirty woman” and feared people would brand her “a tramp”. She felt she was “too old and too ugly” to have been the victim of this assault. She was plunged into a period of extreme depression and anxiety, where she suffered a number of panic attacks.

The woman had previously battled with addiction and an eating disorder, and this assault had a devastating impact on her mental well-being. She began to isolate herself at home. This was not the woman’s first experience of sexual abuse, and she feared what might happen to her if she left the house. The woman sought help from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre but was refused face-to-face counselling as she had abused drugs within the previous year.

She was uncomfortable with counselling over the phone, which she was offered instead. The organisation has since updated their policies, and victims suffering from drug addiction may access six sessions of in-person support, but whether this is appropriate is decided on the facts of the case. The woman eventually reported the man to the SVP after discovering that her neighbour had also been put in touch with him. After explaining her experience to this neighbour, they urged her to come forward. The SVP claims to have strict safeguarding processes in place to protect people who engage in their services.

The volunteer was garda vetted, but SVP had been informed of at least one other incident of alleged inappropriate behaviour towards another woman before this incident. The organisation engaged an independent investigator to investigate the complaint. However, a Garda investigation has also been launched about this incident, and they have advised the woman not to engage with the SVP process as this may interfere with their criminal investigation. The SVP has claimed it is fully cooperating with the Garda investigation. As a result, the independent investigator ceased the process and returned the case to the care of the SVP.

The woman insisted she was not seeking compensation but wanted the man to stop. Despite the assault, she stated that the man had been very supportive of her at the beginning, although she now acknowledges that it could have been viewed as a form of grooming. The man remains suspended while the Garda investigation is ongoing.