McElwee faces fresh investigation over sex offence

DISGRACED college lecturer Dr Niall McElwee is at the centre of a new Garda investigation, it emerged yesterday.

A senior garda officer has been put in charge of the probe to find out if McElwee breached sections of the Sex Offenders Act 2001 which obliges certain categories of offenders to notify the gardaí and their employers of a conviction.

Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy, speaking after a graduation ceremony in Templemore College, disclosed that an investigation was under way.

He said: “I have appointed a superintendent to carry out an inquiry of an alleged conviction of that individual in another jurisdiction.”

Its purpose, he said, is to ascertain if any criminal offence had occurred under sections of the 2001 Act.

Mr Conroy revealed that depending on the findings a file may be prepared and forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mr Conroy said: “We are looking at all those matters and if somebody is suspected of committing an offence we will be sending a file to the DPP.”

The Health Service Executive has already ordered an investigation into the circumstances which led to Dr McElwee resuming work as a college lecturer after being convicted of a sex offence in the Netherlands.

The incident occurred in 2004 when Dr McElwee was on a working visit to Holland.

Three American girls staying in the same hotel as Dr McElwee were awakened after he went into their room in the middle of the night and exposed himself.

He also allegedly tried to make two of them perform oral sex on him.

A judgment from Amsterdam District court dated September 27, 2005 noted that the victims were at risk of “serious psychological consequences”.

They were too traumatised to remain in the Netherlands after the incident, which occurred on June 24, 2004.

When the affair broke earlier this month it emerged that a garda who attended the same course in Holland as Dr McElwee alerted the authorities about the incident on his return.

Meanwhile, it also emerged after the ceremony that the taxi regulator is now in talks with the gardaí on how vetting procedures for taxi drivers will be structured from next year.

The regulator Kathleen Doyle said that from 2008 her office will take over the administration of the issuing of taxi licenses from the gardaí.

However, she said the gardaí will still be responsible for the vetting process to ensure that all who get licenses are fit and proper persons.

The vetting process will be carried out by the newly enlarged Garda VettingUnit based in Thurles,Co Tipperary.

The unit now has responsibility for the screening of all applicants for posts which require them to work with children.

Ms Doyle said the gardaí under the new arrangements being drawn up for the issuing of taxi licences will continue to have responsibility for the vetting process.

The regulator’s office will take over the administration with regard to the issuing of licences.

She said talks were at a very initial stage with the garda authorities on how the procedures would work.