‘Significant failings’ in Order of Malta’s response to sexual abuse claim, report finds – The Irish Times
There were “significant shortcomings” in the way the Order of Malta responded to allegations that a volunteer had sexually abused a young man in the first aid organisation, which an internal review found put others in possible danger.
An independent report by a safeguarding consultant, seen by The Irish Times, criticized how the organization responded to a case where a vulnerable 18-year-old volunteer alleged he was sexually assaulted by an older male volunteer.
The alleged attack took place during an overseas trip with the organization to Lourdes in May 2015, and was reported to the ambulance service by the alleged victim shortly afterwards.
The alleged perpetrator, Scott Browne (32), from Co Kildare, later went on to sexually abuse two 15-year-old boys in separate incidents in 2018.
Browne was jailed for 9½ years in 2020 for abusing underage boys, with another Kildare volunteer, Jordan Murphy (22), jailed for 5½ years in May for aiding and abetting Browne.
At the conclusion of the second court case earlier this year, the order launched a full internal investigation into abuse and wider child protection standards.
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An earlier preliminary report raised questions about how the organization handled the first allegation of sexual assault in 2015. He found that while the allegation was investigated by regional officials, there was a failure to inform senior figures in the organization, as well as statutory authorities, which he said was a “serious omission”.
The report was carried out by safeguarding consultant Patrick Brosnan and was completed in July 2021. It found there was a year and a half delay in making the statutory authorities aware of the allegations against Browne, due to “the absence of an approach correct for registration, reporting and record keeping” from the Order of Malta.
Mr Brosnan, a retired senior Health Service Executive, said the delay “undoubtedly” had implications for other victims.
Despite the previous complaint about Browne in 2015, the report noted that he only voluntarily resigned after gardaí began investigating the abuse of the two underage boys in May 2018.
The report was highly critical of the fact that the local volunteer ambulance corps unit was not informed of the allegations. “The failure to do this was an omission of safeguarding that could undoubtedly have prevented other young people, both internal and external to the Order of Malta, from being put in possible danger,” she said.
The organization’s response “fell far short of what would be expected and necessary in circumstances of such seriousness”, she said.
The current deputy director of the ambulance corps, David Birchall, was involved in the investigation of the initial alleged sexual assault at the time as a regional officer.
The report said Mr Birchall interviewed Browne but the volunteer had denied the claims. When this inquiry could not substantiate the allegation, no further action was taken, according to the report. The full internal investigation, launched after court proceedings ended earlier this year, is still ongoing.
When contacted, Mr Birchall said he had not seen the independent report, so could not comment on its findings.
A spokeswoman for the Order of Malta said that the organization cannot comment while the internal investigation is ongoing.