Paedophile Victim May Go to Europe over Case Failures

By Caroline O’Doherty
Irish Examiner
April 3, 2014

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/paedophile-victim-may-go-to-europe-over-case-failures-264219.html

A victim of serial paedophile Michael Ferry has said he may go to the European Court of Human Rights to get answers as to why the convicted sex offender was able to continue working at a school, where he abused more children.

The Child and Family Agency yesterday acknowledged serious failings in the handling of the Donegal school caretaker following his 2002 conviction for sex attacks on a young boy.

However, the agency said there were insufficient records from that time to explain why crucial meetings between gardai and local HSE staff did not take place and no joint approach was taken to monitoring Ferry, even though he was on the sex offenders’ register.

John Smith, the agency’s director in the west, said: “Our response was not as robust as it should have been. In 2002, what should have occurred in line with Children First [guidelines for child protection] was there should have been a joint strategy meeting between the HSE and an Garda Siochana. Unfortunately, that did not occur.”

Ferry, 58, a former student priest, worked as a caretaker at Ardscoil Mhuire in Gweedore, which later became a centre for Irish language courses.

In 2002, he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a boy there in 1986 and was given a suspended sentence, but he continued to work at the premises on a casual basis and abused local boys who came there to play football in the grounds after plying them with drink.

In 2011, he got 18 years in jail after admitting almost 40 charges of rape, sexual assault, and production of child porn-ography on dates between 2003 and 2009, as well as in 1991.

The HSE ordered a review of the handling of the case and the report has been made available to victims. It found gardai did tell the school about Ferry but no further action was taken by authorities to prevent him having further access to children.

The report has not been made public, a decision criticised by one of the victims, Derek Mulligan, who has waived his anonymity. He is also angry that a separate Garda review ordered by Justice Minister Alan Shatter in 2011 has not been published. Mr Mulligan says he wants to know why no disciplinary or legal action has been taken against any individual for the failure to protect children. He described the HSE report as “horrific” and said he may have to go to Europe for answers.

John Smith stressed that child protection standards had improved significantly since 2002. “Our response in 2010 [when the new charges came to light] was excellent,” he said.

He told RTE it was not only the State that had responsibility for safeguarding children.

“There is a need for employers for example to be robust in terms of the vetting of staff and to have safe recruitment practices,” said Mr Smith. “There is a role for the community. This was a convicted sex offender. There is a need for vigilance in the community with such individuals. It should not be tolerated that they have access to school children.”