‘Human error’ the root cause of garda blunder

PROSECUTIONS against two suspects in a global child pornography sting were in doubt last night as gardaí admitted “human error” saw detectives neglect a tip-off passed to them six months ago.

An internal garda inquiry into the error was launched. It will be headed by Chief Superintendent Derek Byrne from Pearse Street, Garda Station, Dublin.

But Justice Minster Michael McDowell admitted catching the Irish users who downloaded depraved videos and pictures of child abuse looked unlikely.

“It’s a pity that it’s been investigated now at this delay because it’s quiet possible, especially with the publicity, that a lot of the evidence may have disappeared.”

The suspects’ computer or IP addresses were sent to gardaí on August 22 last year, as part of an Austrian investigation, identifying 2,360 suspects from 77 countries.

Some downloaded images of abuse on children as young as five.

But garda headquarters yesterday back-tracked on their initial suggestion that the alert on Irish suspects had never arrived, and admitted that the force actually overlooked it.

“Regrettably, it slipped through the net,” said spokesman Inspector Ray McHugh. “Unfortunately, human error came into play on this particular case. That’s a matter of regret.”

The Austrian message was not prioritised, he said, denying the force were trying to spread the blame. Gardaí say the day the alert arrived in Dublin by email, officers were trawling through 150 items.

A statement added: “It is regretted that it was not actioned at the time. It is understood that a large number of other countries named are in a similar position due to the general nature of the circulation on the Interpol network.”

But this claim was rebuffed by Austria’s Federal Bureau of Criminal Investigation last night. The bureau’s Gerald Hasztera fumed: “That’s not true. Most investigations in other countries have finished.”

Fears that the suspects have had an opportunity to delete or destroy records of depraved images of child rape and abuse have left senior detectives seething.

Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) also said it feared the opportunity for prosecutions may have been lost.

Mr McDowell said that sanctions against gardaí looked unnecessary.

“Everybody makes mistakes and it doesn’t always mean that disciplinary action has to follow,” he said.

Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy is to review procedures in processing information from other jurisdictions.