Gardaí has completed a criminal investigation into alleged trespassing by teacher Enoch Burke at Wilson’s Hospital School in County Westmeath, reports Independent.
The prosecutor’s office must now decide whether criminal prosecution is threatened. That decision is expected “within weeks,” according to a source.
The Sunday Independent can reveal that the gardaís of Westmeath have now sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) containing suspicions of trespassing.
Prosecutors are expected to inform investigating officers shortly if formal charges should be brought against Mr. Burke.
In a statement to that newspaper, the Garda headquarters, without directly identifying the school teacher, confirmed that their investigation was closed and that a file had been forwarded to the DPP.
The statement read: “A male was arrested under the Public Order Act 1994 on Tuesday January 24, 2023, and taken to Mullingar garda station. He was subsequently released and a file has since been sent to the Office of the DPP,” reports Independent.
As previously reported, if Mr. Burke were charged with trespassing, one of the terms of his bail would be that he would not be allowed to return to Wilson’s Hospital School.
According to a source: “If he is charged, this would be a sure-fire way of stopping his daily appearance. Because he would be in breach of his bail conditions and gardaí would have the power to remove him,” reports Independent.
Mr. Burke, an evangelical Christian, was suspended last August after incidents in which he clashed with school administration over demanding that a transgender student be given a new name and associated “they/their” pronouns to use with the child.
Mr. Burke has been showing up nearly every day since January 5th. On January 24, the gardaís were called to school and arrived in an unmarked car.
Mr Burke was arrested on the school grounds after being refused entry to the building.
He was put in the back of the Garda vehicle and was taken to Mullingar Garda station. He was later released without charge and returned to school the same day.
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