Unrepentant McDowell defends rape crisis stance

TANAISTE and Justice Minister Michael McDowell has again defended his handling of the statutory rape crisis earlier this year.

In May, the Supreme Court struck down the law which made it an automatic offence to have sex with a girl under 15, saying it was unconstitutional as it did not allow for a defence of honest mistake about the victim’s age.

In light of that decision, the High Court subsequently freed a convicted child rapist, known as Mr A, amid much public furore.

However, the Supreme Court later ordered Mr A be re-arrested, saying there was no retrospective effect to its ruling.

In between the High Court and Supreme Court decisions on the Mr A case, the Government rushed through legislation to close off the loopholes created by the striking-down of the statutory rape law.

However, at every stage of the controversy, Mr McDowell insisted there was ‘‘no black hole’’ in the law.

‘‘Our criminal code still provides for sexual offences against young people,’’ he told the Dáil in June. ‘‘Rape remains part of our law and carries a life sentence; sexual assault against a young person carries a penalty of 14 years and there is always a sexual assault where an act of sexual intercourse is committed with a child; aggravated sexual assault carries a life sentence penalty and rape of a young person carries a life sentence. To get a child drunk and to have sex with that child is an offence that carries a life sentence.’’

Events this week supported his stance. On Wednesday, prosecutions were dropped against six men originally charged under the law the Supreme Court struck down. But they were re-arrested and charged with other offences.

Questioned about the six cases by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny in the Dáil yesterday, Mr McDowell said he did not wish to comment on pending court proceedings. But he added: ‘‘I ask the deputy to acknowledge at the least that yesterday’s charges proved I was correct when I said there was no black hole in the law.’’