SENIOR gardai in Galway yesterday ruled out any question of a 13-year-old girl, who has been taken into care, having been the victim of abuse by a paedophile ring. However, the possibility of abuse in a domestic setting is being investigated.
The girl, from a rural part of the west, has been in the care of the Western Health Board since July after photographs were noticed when a film was sent for processing.
An officer involved in the investigation told The Irish Times that gardai were examining the possibility that the girl - the only child of a couple who are non-nationals but have been living in Ireland for some time - was sexually abused. "We are examining the possibility of child sex abuse within the family context," he confirmed.
Social workers consider the explicit photographs to be pornographic. The investigation is believed to centre on the possibility that she may have been abused in addition to being featured in pornographic pictures.
"The child's parents have been questioned, but a file for forwarding to the Director of Public Prosecutions has yet to be completed. At this point, however, we can confirm that there is no question of her being part of any paedophile ring, international or otherwise," the garda added.
He noted that the courts had considered it necessary to have the child taken into care on several occasions.
The health board's programme manager for community care, Mr Seamus Mannion, confirmed that interim care orders in relation to the girl had been obtained in Galway District Court on July 29th and August 6th, while a final order was obtained on August 13th.
"The board is co-operating fully with the gardai. Our main concern is for the child; to treat her and to provide counselling as appropriate under the direction of a child psychiatrist. She will be in our care until she is 18," he said.
It is understood that there was concern among people living near the girl about her welfare, but it was not until the photographs were sent for processing and their content noted that both the Garda and Western Health Board were contacted.
The possibility that she was a victim of a paedophile ring was ruled out when it was established that the photographs were sent through normal channels for processing. "Paedophile rings tend to be much more secretive," a garda close to the investigation said.