Order of Malta paid settlement to volunteer over sexual assault complaint

The Order of Malta previously paid a settlement to a female volunteer who claimed the organisation had failed to properly investigate complaints she made about being allegedly sexually assaulted by another volunteer.

The voluntary organisation agreed to settle a civil case in 2018 taken in the Circuit Court by the woman, who alleged she had been sexually assaulted in the ambulance corps on two occasions several years earlier.

The woman claimed that she had been groped by a male volunteer while on first-aid duty at a music concert in July 2012, and in another alleged incident shortly afterwards the same volunteer took her hand and placed it on his crotch.

Legal papers filed in the case, seen by The Irish Times, claimed the woman reported the matter to the Order of Malta at the time but the organisation “refused” to proactively investigate the allegations.

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In an October 2012 email to Peadar Ward, the then national director of the ambulance corps who later became chief executive, the volunteer claimed the organisation had “failed to act” on her complaint and criticised the “lack of support” she had received.

In response Mr Ward, who stepped down as Order of Malta chief executive last year, stated: “You should report instances of assault to the Garda Síochána.”

In further internal correspondence the following month, regional officer Simon Gray advised the organisation would take “appropriate action” if a Garda investigation was conducted “and a finding made as to whether an offence occurred”.

The woman’s civil claim stated she was removed from a leadership position in her local unit in December 2012. The woman, a civilian staff member in An Garda Síochána, is no longer involved with the organisation.

Her legal claim alleged both the alleged assaults and how she was treated after reporting the matter caused her significant distress.

The case had been listed for a court hearing in March 2018, at which point it is understood the Order of Malta agreed to pay a settlement of €15,000, plus legal costs.

The organisation is currently grappling with a controversy related to a separate former volunteer who was convicted of sexually abusing two youths.

Scott Browne, from Co Kildare and 27 at the time of the offences, was jailed for 9½ years in 2020 for sexually abusing two15-year-old boys in separate incidents in May 2018. The teenagers were molested after being knocked unconscious with a strong pain-relief drug stolen from the order.

The Irish Times previously reported that two separate complaints had been made to the Order of Malta about Browne allegedly sexually assaulting young men in the ambulance corps in 2015 and 2017, but he was not removed from the organisation.

The recent revelations that the ambulance corps had been aware of previous complaints about Browne prior to him molesting the two 15-year-olds has caused significant concern within the organisation.

Another former Co Kildare volunteer, Jordan Murphy, was jailed for 5½ years in early May after he pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting Browne to abuse the two 15-year-olds.

Following the conclusion of the criminal cases the organisation launched an internal investigation, which is to review how it responded to the prior complaints about Browne. The review is being conducted by retired assistant Garda commissioner Fintan Fanning, Order of Malta chief executive John Byrne and his predecessor Peadar Ward.

A spokeswoman for the Order of Malta said the settlement with the female volunteer in the civil action related to a “historic case that dates to 2012,” but files related to the matter would be retrieved and examined in the ongoing review.