A senior member of An Garda Síochána has been suspended from duty after being brought before the courts on multiple rape charges, reports Sunday world.
The arrest followed a lengthy investigation into alleged sexual offences, carried out by specialised detectives.
The garda, whose identity is protected by law due to the nature of the alleged crimes, appeared before a district court last month where he was formally charged, reports Sunday world.
He is facing three separate counts of raping a woman, which are alleged to have happened in the same year but on different occasions.
The complainant in the case is someone known to the accused.
One of the allegations falls under Section 4 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act, 1990, reports Sunday world.
According to court documents, the remaining two charges are under Section 48 of the Offences Against the Person Act, 1861, and Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) Act, 1981, as modified by Section 21 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act, 1990.
An Garda Síochána has confirmed that the officer has been suspended from active duty.
His initial court appearance took place last month, during which he was granted bail. He is due to appear again later this year, reports Sunday world.
The charges fall under laws that require the case to be heard before the Central Criminal Court, which handles Ireland’s most serious sexual offence cases.
A Garda spokesperson said last night: “As part of a Garda investigation into alleged sexual offences, a member of An Garda Síochána in Munster has been arrested and charged. The Garda is suspended,” reports Sunday world.
The most recent data shows that 94 gardaí are currently suspended from duty.
As of June 6, these suspensions amount to a collective total of 89,534 days, reports Sunday world.
The statistics were shared by Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan in response to a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin TD Carol Nolan.
The suspensions involve a broad range of matters, including theft, unauthorised disclosure of information, and physical assaults, reports Sunday world.
More than one-third of cases are linked to offences such as sexual assault, driving under the influence, and domestic abuse.
A significant portion of the incidents that led to gardaí being suspended happened while they were off duty.
In May, the Policing and Community Safety Authority was told that approximately 55 officers were also assigned to “non-public facing duties,” reports Sunday world.
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