Academic quits post over indecent assaults disclosure

A leading childcare specialist has resigned from his academic post after the disclosure that he has a conviction for attempted indecent assault in the Netherlands.

Dr Niall McElwee tendered his resignation to the Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) last week as a result of the incident at a hotel in Amsterdam in June 2004.

Dr McElwee (40) said he "deeply regretted" the trauma he caused to four American tourists aged between 15 and 18 and had apologised to them in court.

"It was totally out of character for me. I was totally inebriated. It was very poor judgment. I didn't know where I was quite literally," he told The Irish Times yesterday.

Dr McElwee was convicted in September 2005 of two counts of attempted indecent assault. According to court documents, he propositioned one woman for sexual favours and got into bed semi-naked with another.

He was acquitted of four other charges by the Court of Amsterdam, including two against another woman, because the evidence was not proven. Dr McElwee, who lives in Athenry, Co Galway, was given a three-month suspended sentence, two years probation and was fined €3,500.

The conviction came to light only last Wednesday week when Dr McElwee informed the director of Athlone Institute of Technology, Prof Ciarán Ó Catháin, about it and then resigned.

Dr McElwee said he did so "on foot of threatened revelations by different parties to the media".

He added: "The only honourable thing given the situation was to resign. It has been really difficult for me to function with this in the background for the last two years. This incident was, and continues to be, a great source of personal regret and pain for me.

"It's going to be very, very difficult to rebuild my career, but my first concern is for my family. Naturally they are deeply traumatised."

Mr McElwee, a father of one, was a senior lecturer in child and youth care and the academic course leader of the BA in addictions at the AIT. He was also the director of its Centre for Child and Youth Care Learning.

A statement from AIT said: "Athlone Institute of Technology confirms that the director of its Centre for Child and Youth Care Learning resigned last week. The institute will immediately begin a recruitment process to fill this post."

Dr McElwee is the co-author of 14 books on various child and youth care themes and the founding editor of the Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies.

In 2004, he published an alarming report about the extent of heroin abuse in the midlands. The incident in Amsterdam happened while he was doing research into that project.

In 2005 he gave evidence on suicide to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children.