DEFENCE FORCES FACE 146 CLAIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE

Military base 'assaults involved minors, report reveals

- KEN FOXE

THE Defence Forces has looked into more than 140 allegations of sexual abuse, including 20 cases which involved a member of the military and a minor.

A report prepared by military authorities disclosed there have been 146 investigations into alleged sex crimes over the past four decades.

Some were later found to relate to common assault” and consensual acts, according to the report, which was marked with a restricted” status by the Defence Forces.

Of the 146 reports, 127 took place in Ireland and were dealt with by military police with 52 of those cases referred onwards to gardai for investigation.

Another seven took place overseas where An Garda Siochana had no jurisdiction and they had to be dealt with under military law.

A further 12 cases were found not to involve Defence Forces personnel but there was a “military connection”, for example, the location of the alleged crime.

Defence Minister Simon Coveney was told in the report that there had been a significant fall in the t number of cases with 54 cases in the 1980s, 35 in the 1990s, 20 in the 2000s, and 17 in the 2010s.