Gardai and prison authorities are carrying out separate investigations into an allegation by a male prisoner that he was seriously sexually assaulted by another prisoner in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, yesterday.
The 19-year-old prisoner alleged that the attack happened at 10.30 a.m. in the toilet area on one of the public landings. He has claimed that two prisoners held him up against a wall while another carried out a rape.
A spokesman for the Irish Prisons Service said yesterday that gardai from Mountjoy station had been called in and had started an investigation.
Either the governor of Mountjoy Prison, Mr John Lonergan, or one of the other prison governors would conduct a separate investigation into the alleged assault, he said.
The spokesman said that the prisoner was being medically examined by a prison doctor, but would also be examined by medical professionals from outside agencies.
"The matter is being taken seriously. What surprises us is that the alleged incident happened in a relatively public area. There would have been a number of other prisoners about on the landing and members of staff," the spokesman said.
The incident is alleged to have happened in C wing. The spokesman said the landing would be at the hub of the block and there would have been plenty of people about at that time.
A Garda spokesman confirmed that gardai had been called in by the prison authorities and that gardai at Mountjoy station were investigating. "The gardai have started speaking to prisoners and taking statements," he said.