Ahern defends handling of abuse case

JUSTICE Minister Dermot Ahern has defended his department’s handling of a case involving an academic who attempted to indecently assault four teenage US girls.

Senior childcare lecturer Dr Niall McElwee resigned from his position at Athlone Institute of Technology in 2007 as details of his conviction were about to be made public.

A Dutch court had given him a suspended sentence in 2005 after finding him guilty of attempting to indecently assault the four girls in an Amsterdam hotel in June of the previous year.