A WOMAN who reported sex abuse allegations concerning her six year old son in early July says she feels "betrayed" by delays in the official response.
Sheila, who lives in south Dublin and has asked that her surname not be used to protect her son, claims he was abused by a 14 year old boy living in the same locality in April and May.
"It was at least 10 days before anybody even spoke to that [14 year old] boy, and then it was only a social worker. The guards didn't talk to him for about three weeks," she said.
The boy, who has admitted the allegations to gardai, has since moved with his family to another Dublin suburb. It is understood that a Garda investigation into the case is almost complete and a file is being prepared for the DPP.
In mid July, her son was given an appointment for September 5th at the sexual abuse unit in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin. The appointment was for "validation" - the initial examination and evaluation of sex abuse allegations which the Eastern Health Board insists must take place before counselling and therapy can be arranged.
The September appointment was not changed to an earlier date, despite repeated requests to do so following further allegations of attempted rape which subsequently came to light.
The hospital's chief executive, Mr Paul Kavanagh, confirmed that a two month delay had occurred since the case was referred to the hospital by the health board.
He said the reasons for the delay were discussed with Sheila, who was given assurances about her son.
Mr Kavanagh earlier told The Irish Times a waiting time of two months for validation would be "extremely unusual" and he would be "puzzled" at such a delay. Cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse were given priority and children in such circumstances would normally be seen within three weeks, he said.
A spokeswoman for the Eastern Health Board said there was "pressure" on services because of an increase in the number of reported sex abuse cases in recent years.
A two month delay was "not too unusual" at this time of year, she suggested. However, interim advice would normally be given in such circumstances.
"We would expect there would be a certain amount of hand holding in the meantime," the spokeswoman said.
Sheila said she found out about the abuse on Saturday, June 29th. She informed her family doctor the following Monday. A social worker from the Eastern Health Board visited her the next day.
She sums up her subsequent experiences with a quote from a psychologist: "Sometimes going through the system is a lot more traumatic than the actual abuse."
Although the 14 year old boy admitted the abuse, the social worker told her that her six year old son would have to wait more than two months before validation.
"I questioned why the validation was necessary, when the boy had already admitted it. She said it was just part of the process, says Sheila.
She was anxious to shield her son from too much intrusive questioning, and initially refused a request for a statement from her son. "I said no. The [14 year old] boy had admitted it, my son was going to have to speak to her, then the police, then Crumlin and then Cluain Mhuire [a counselling service] probably 10 people by the time he got through it."
During July she was confused and upset, unsure of where to turn for help. She rang a number of voluntary bodies, including the Rape Crisis Centre and the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Nobody seemed to be able to offer her clear advice on how to handle the trauma.
"I was afraid of putting words in his mouth, or making it worse. I didn't know whether to keep talking about it or not to talk about it at all. I just didn't know what to do."
She is critical of the advice given her by the social worker. "She just kept telling me to tell him it was OK and he didn't do anything wrong.
"After finding out it was a possible rape I was pretty close to hysterical. She came out a few days after that and handed me a Stay Safe pamphlet. But you don't tell your son how to stay safe once it has happened - that would make him feel even more guilty.
"I said, `what am I going to do with this? I'm not going to tell him this now.' So I just gave up on her then.
The mother of the 14 year old boy, who was deeply upset at what had happened, offered to pay for private counselling for the six year old if it meant he would get therapy quicker. After some soul searching she accepted the offer, and last week she cancelled her son's appointment in Our Lady's Hospital in Crumlin.
She says she was told by the EHB the Garda authorities had been informed about the claims by the end of the first week in July. She filed a separate complaint herself at her local Garda station the following Wednesday, July 10th.
When a week passed and she had not heard from the Garda she went back to her local Garda station.
"I finally went in and was told the sergeant in charge [of the case] wasn't available until the Friday," she said. "So I left shouting stuff about going to see my TD, that I'd had enough. I was home half an hour and I got a phone call from the police.
She says gardai did not interview her before July 19th, and then interviewed the 14 year old boy on the following Monday, July 22nd.
A Garda spokesman said he could not comment on individual cases, but general practice was to carry out a "full and thorough" investigation into all allegations of sexual abuse.
During the summer the 14 year old boy associated freely with younger boys in the neighbourhood, she says.
"I'd go out and I'd see him sitting down with two or three six year olds. I couldn't go around putting letters in everyone's boxes, saying, keep your kids away from him'. I would have been up for slander."
She said she fears counselling may already be too late: her son, who was initially willing to talk about his experiences, is now reluctant to discuss them and may have "internalised" the trauma.