Irish HSE re-opens sexual assault case against dentist
The Irish Health Service Executive has announced that it will re-open a case against a former public dentist.
The dentist, who is now retired, is suspected of abusing up to one hundred children during his years as a public dentist in the 1970’s. A woman who made a complaint to the Health Board more than thirty years ago will now be interviewed against as part of a fresh investigation into the case. The women felt her complaint was not dealt with at the time and a number of other women also complained about the dentist over the course of the following twenty years. The initial complaint was not passed onto the Irish Dental Council and the issue was not investigated by the gardai.
In the 1980’s, 1990’s and the early part of the following decade, several complaints were made and the gardai filed four cases to the Director of Public Prosecution. At one point the health minister intervened, as the investigation was progressing extremely slowly, to the disappointment of the alleged victims. The health board was urged to send the files to the gardai, who began to investigate the individual cases. It is believed that police noted unusual visiting patterns when it came to issuing appointments to hundreds of primary school girls. In 2003, the Department of Public Prosecution chose not to pursue the case.
The dentist involved in the case has now retired and is believed to be in his late 70’s. The HSE have decided to gather further information on the case to ensure the right procedures were taken and the case was dealt with in a satisfactory manner. A spokeswoman confirmed that the case was being reviewed to determine whether any further action would be required.
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