‘Rape tape’ was altered, says report

A RECORDING examined as part of an investigation into allegations of inappropriate Garda behaviour during a Shell to Sea protest was tampered with before being handed to the Garda Ombudsman Commission, a report has found.

The recording, on which gardaí were alleged to have joked about raping two women arrested during the protest, was modified on four occasions on the eve of its confiscation, according to an interim report compiled by the commission.

The alterations included the deletion of six files overnight between April 13 and 14. Other files were created and overwritten on four occasions between 2.45am and 7.14am, the report said.