HSE investigation had given sex abuse stepfather the all-clear

The HSE was asked to investigate a man who was accused of sexually abusing his stepdaughter — he was given the all-clear and deemed to be at a low risk to children.

The man, Philip Dempsey, aged 48, moved back into the family home after this investigation.

Yesterday, he was jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to three counts of sexual assault of his stepdaughter when she was a teenager at the family home between January 2000 and March 2003.