Dementia may block recovery of €4.7m for sex abuse victims

A retired company director at the centre of a landmark €4.7m sex abuse award may be suffering from dementia, the High Court heard yesterday.

It means there are now question marks over whether Joseph Carrick’s victims will be able to recover the €4.7m awards from him.

An application may be made to set aside the award, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne was told yesterday.

Last November, Jacqueline O’Toole, who was raped and became pregnant by Carrick when she was a schoolgirl, was awarded the record €4m in damages by a High Court jury.

Her cousin and best friend Geraldine Nolan, who was also raped and abused by him was awar-ded €700,000 in damages by a separate jury.

Carrick, aged 72, of Carysfort Woods, Blackrock, Co Dublin, did not contest the case.

Yesterday, Ms Justice Dunne was told by John Rodgers SC, for Carrick, that they had received instructions that there were serious questions about his client’s mental capacity.

Mr Rodgers said they wished to file an affidavit by a psychiatrist who had examined him and his new solicitor had to make other inquiries including an issue over the signing over of Carrick’s power of attorney some years ago.

This occurred when he was suffering from cancer and there were question marks over his survival.

“He [his solicitor] is now in a very difficult position where he has a client who appears to be suffering from dementia and appeared to be suffering from it at the time of the trial,” said Mr Rodgers.

Ms Justice Dunne, who expressed surprise at the development, said, however, it was not an unusual state of affairs that even where judgments are made, there is no guarantee the money can be recovered. She adjourned the matter for two weeks.