Gardai are investigating a claim by an eastern European gypsy girl and her family that she was abducted and repeatedly raped by the family of a 14-yearold boy she was supposed to have married in a ceremony in south Dublin last week.
The girl, whose family say she is only 11 years old, made a long and detailed statement through an interpreter to gardai in Clondalkin station on Monday night.
She was taken to Temple Street Hospital, but is believed to have been discharged by her family later yesterday. It was not clear if the family had allowed a medical examination of the child, so it was not known if she was pregnant.
The girl is now believed to be in the care of her family who are living in a house supplied by the Eastern Health Board in west Dublin.
According to the statements by the girl and her parents she was betrothed to a 14-year-old boy from another European gypsy family, which has State-provided accommodation in south central Dublin.
A wedding ceremony took place, and the girl was left with the other child's family. However, just over a week ago she left and returned to her family home in west Dublin.
According to the statements, men from the other family arrived at her family home at about 10 p.m. on Friday night last, overpowered her parents and abducted her, taking her back to their accommodation.
The girl said she was tied to a bed and repeatedly raped and sexually abused by the men that had abducted her. She said they also forced the boy to have sex with her.
She said she escaped on Sunday night with the help of other gypsies and was taken home.
Gardai raided the house where the alleged assault is said to have happened and recovered a number of items, including a video taken of the "marriage" ceremony between the boy and girl.
The video is said to show the girl in a white dress and headdress. It also shows the boy's family apparently handing over money to her parent. The ceremony was followed by a party with accordion music.
Gardai are seeking a number of men who attended the ceremony for questioning.
This is the second time in six months that gardai have received a complaint of a very similar nature concerning the eastern European gypsies who have settled here.
Last year another girl's family claimed that their daughter had been made pregnant after a similar ceremony in which they were also paid for handing her over for marriage to a young teenage boy.
Gardai made extensive inquiries, and the girl was taken into care in a hostel. However, while she was found to be pregnant it was also discovered that she was probably 16 or 17 years old but looked much younger because of her small size.
Gardai were unable to corroborate that girl's initial statement, and eventually the two families involved appeared to come to some agreement.