To ask the Chief Constable; to provide an update in relation to the investigation of allegations of historical child sexual abuse in County Fermanagh?
There are currently 46 investigations into historical child sexual abuse in County Fermanagh, which are broken down as follows:
- 20 were previously reported to police, 9 of which have been closed (due to lack of engagement by the victim or no further enquiries identified)
- 21 new reports which relate to alleged offenders who are now deceased.
- 5 investigations ongoing which were never previously reported to police.
Since the last update, 2 suspects have been arrested and interviewed and a further suspect has been interviewed as a voluntary attender.
Public Protection Branch is continuing to gather evidence and support victims of these crimes.
To date, they have gathered evidence from 25 victims who were willing to engage in the investigative process. Evidence has been recorded by both statement and Achieving Best Evidence (ABE). 6 victims have been spoken to in January 2020.
It should be noted that this evidence gathering process is a detailed and sometimes protracted process, with Detectives meeting victims on several occasions in order to gather all relevant evidence and informat