Politicians speak out over sex assault case

POLITICIANS in Kerry yesterday broke their silence on the Listowel sex assault case which has received huge countrywide reaction and drawn messages of support from around the world for the female victim.

Kerry North Fine Gael TD Jimmy Deenihan called for an end to any intimidation of the 24-year-old woman at the centre of the case which has caused deep divisions in the area.

“Listowel is a caring, compassionate town. This girl will not be ostracised. She will get every support possible,” he said.

Mr Deenihan, who lives at Finuge, just outside Listowel, is the first senior politician in Kerry to comment on the controversy which has received massive publicity since 50 people staged a show of support for convicted sex offender Danny Foley, last Wednesday.

They queued up to shake his hand and embrace him just before he received a seven-year prison sentence, with two years suspended, at the Circuit Criminal Court, in Tralee, for sexually assaulting the woman in a Listowel car park.

She claimed at a weekend press conference she was intimidated by his supporters in the courtroom and by people in Listowel since court proceedings began.

The majority of councillors in the Listowel area have been refusing to comment publicly, but some spoke yesterday.

A Fianna Fáil county councillor, John Brassil, said he had every confidence the people of Listowel would support the victim “in the manner she deserves”.

“People should judge Listowel for what it is – a town that is a centre of culture, heritage and tourism in Kerry,” he added.

Fine Gael town councillor Jackie Barrett-Madigan maintained the town and community had been subjected to unfair criticism because of a tragic case which could have happened anywhere in the country. It was unfair that Listowel’s good name was being targeted, she claimed.

Another FG town councillor, Tim O’Leary, voiced his support for the woman and reassured her she would receive support.

Meanwhile, the victim has said she will not talk again in public about the case and called for respect for her privacy and that of her family.

She is continuing to receive counselling from the Kerry Rape Crisis Centre.

The centre’s director, Vera O’Leary, said they would be making no further comment on the matter.

The centre has been receiving scores of messages of support for the woman, including some from as far away as Japan and New Zealand, while a large amount of floral tributes have been arriving at her home in Listowel.

Foley, a 35-year-old bouncer from Meen, Listowel, is to appeal the case.