‘No proper support for teen sex offenders’

TEENAGE sex offenders have to travel abroad for proper treatment in an effort to stop them drifting into adult crime.

The National Organisation for the Treatment of Abusers’ annual conference in Malahide, Co Dublin, yesterday heard that Irish clinics lack the expertise and resources to accept juvenile offenders.

Instead they are routinely sent for treatment programmes in Britain at a cost of €70,000 each.

In west Dublin alone, Health Service Executive (HSE) support workers say 70 young offenders are referred to them every year.

Director of Dublin-based Northside Inter-Agency Project Joan Cherry said the practice was doing little to stop people re-offending.

“It really is unacceptable. When I think of what it costs to send just one person over to England for treatment and how that money could be used here,” she said.

Delegates heard from US expert, John Hunter, whose studies show that a majority of convicted adult sexoffenders traced theirbehaviour back to deviant habits as teenagers.

Ms Cherry said this country is not taking this fact on and is helping to createanother generation ofpotential offenders by failing to intervene.

“I really fear we will put children at risk and it will take another scandal before we see investment in proper services for sex offenders,” she said.

HSE child care manager for west Dublin, Doreen McGowan, said the problem of teenagers abusing other children was widespread.

Figures suggest that up to one third of all sex offenders are teenagers. Its service has more than 70 young sexoffenders referred to it every year — drawn exclusively from its catchment area of Clondalkin, Ballyfermot, Inchicore and Lucan in west Dublin.

She said the more theextreme the behaviour, the more unlikely it is an Irish health professional will take on the case because of the complexities involved.

“In Dublin we have two local services on the north side and south side, but there is nobody there dedicated to juveniles.

“Regular clinics do not want to take on these cases, and I can understand where they are coming from but what are we to do?” she said.

She said three west Dublin juveniles were sent over to Britain for treatment last year.

Ms Cherry said this might be the only option available, but it severely restricted the range of therapies which could be used to helpoffenders.

“Quite often we are sending vulnerable people away from their families where it is not possible to put in place all the other family support services which are needed,” she said.

Ms McGowan said Ireland could easily draw from successful projects in other countries but everything is dependent on ongoing reviews.

“We need a specialist service to be put in place and a couple of specialist units to work with these offenders. At the moment we are all just waiting to see what the national working group on child protection will come up with,” she said.

However, she feels there is no political will to follow through with genuine investment in offender treatment.