Can the gardaí force me to continue? So worried, please help me...

LegacyUser

Going unregistered for this, I'm so ashamed..

Last night i was in a nightclub and i was dancing with this guy, who now I realize (looking at the pictures) he was creeping around me all night, so he comes up to me and we're dancing, then he starts kissing me, and we made our way to a booth - I had not intended on funny business, I was actually getting a bit tired as it was towards the end of the night..

So anyway we're sitting there and we were kind of half talking half kissing and he goes to drop his hand as if to, (for want of a better word, i feel grubby even typing it) finger me and i closed my thighs and kinda pulled back a bit, and he seemed content to just kinda feel my legs.. so anyway, i had my hand on his stomach and before i realize it, he's opened his jeans and has moved my hand down and i didn't cop it for a while, and when i did i looked down and was like wtf.. then a little bit later he gets up and leaves, and my friend comes over and says well he was good looking and i said yeah he was.. and then the pair of us looked down and there was a load of change on the ground..from my purse..

The scumbag had taken my purse out of my bag, and stolen it.. I was in complete shock.. I told one of the bouncers who obviously kept an eye on me because when i found the guy, reached into his pocket and took out my purse (with license and notes taken out of it) with my college ID still inside it tho.. the bouncer who i had said it to, came over and hauled your man out of it, and me and my friend following them.. telling us we had to wait for the gardai.. I was too hysterical to even take it in at the time.. then a girl that worked at the nightclub came out and told me to bring her to where we were sitting etc and when i came back out, the guy made a runner out of the nightclub only to be met with more bouncers and gardai who promptly put him in the back of the car and searched, finding my driver's license on him, and then coming back to the nightclub to interview me and what exactly happened etc etc

So then this evening the cop rang me and said because the kid was underage it has to go through the junior liaison officer (he's 17, told me he was 20, same as me..) and that because he has a few strikes against him already, it might go to court but we won't know for about 6 weeks.. He asked me on the phone if I'd go as a witness and initially I said yeah, then changed my mind and said i don't want it coming back on me e.g.. them saying i was drunk etc and he said well at the end of the day we found your license on him so... But I really don't want to go to court, my parents don't even know, I don't want to tell them, I don't want them knowing, I want this to go away, I have my license back and that's all that matters...

So can the gardai make me continue or if i tell them i back out completely will they leave me alone..?

The_Conductor

Ultimately you could be compelled to appear as a witness- however this would be rather unusual in a case such as this (and seriously not worth the Garda's time). It really depends on what the guy has done before- and how seriously the Gardai are about pinning something on him (and if he had your driver's licence on him- this is a slam-dunk from their perspective).

Go, talk to the arresting Garda and see what he/she says. Make your feelings on the matter known. And regardless of what happens- learn from the experience!!!!

xzanti

I'm not sure about the legalities of the matter tbh..

But really, you have nothing to feel ashamed about.. you were the victim of a crime..

At least they got the little scumbag..

Morag

I can understand that you don't want the touchy feely parts of your encounter with him to come out.
Esp as he was only 17, and it may be hard to give evidence in open court but, it could be just the thing this kid needs to be caught for what he's being doing.
It's a tough place to be in.

qwertytlk

Ok so if he is 17, will they be dealimng with this in the childrens court? If so then this is a closed court, i.e no members of public, no reporters so id dont see how ur parents would find it, if thats the case.

xzanti

qwertytlk wrote: »

Ok so if he is 17, will they be dealimng with this in the childrens court? If so then this is a closed court, i.e no members of public, no reporters so id dont see how ur parents would find it, if thats the case.

I think you have to be 16 or under to be tried in the Children's Court.. but I could be wrong?

blatantrereg

You can be compelled to appear as a witness once if it goes to court.

If it has not been sent to the DPP yet you could talk to the gardai. If you say you dont want it to go any further then they might drop it (reluctanctly).

It's completely understandable that you dont want to go any further. It's highly embarrassing for you and if it geos to court you could have your picture in the paper for it and everything. I'm not certain, though I think the thief would be granted anonymity because of his age, but your details could be published without restriction.

solovely

So, would you be happy for the thief to get away with this and do it to countless other girls because you're too embarrassed to testify?

As others have said, it's probably a blessing for you that he's underage, as he will be granted anonymity so your identity will be protected. Still, you are the victim, you have nothing to fear or be embarrassed about. Who hasn't had a bit of a drunken fumble with somebody they regret in a nightclub?? You said no, he took advantage. YOU DID NOTHING WRONG!! Anyone who will judge you otherwise isn't worth a toss.

So, you got away relatively unharmed, just a bit embarrassed....what about the next girl, or the girl after that? Do they not matter?

If you speak to the guards, I'm sure they will address your concerns. Besides it being the right and moral thing to do, it's your civil duty. I'm sure there's plenty of people out there who've been in similar situations, but the perpetrator was never caught and they would have appreciated the opportunity to show the bad guy justice!

Milk & Honey

xzanti wrote: »

I think you have to be 16 or under to be tried in the Children's Court.. but I could be wrong?

You are wrong. the Limit is 18 or under at the time the crime is committed. It will never be made public. the o/p may not be needed as a witness unless the guy disputes it. It is very disheartening for the guards to apprehend a criminal and then have witnesses refuse to swear up.

BattleCorp

Milk & Honey wrote: »

You are wrong. the Limit is 18 or under at the time the crime is committed. It will never be made public. the o/p may not be needed as a witness unless the guy disputes it. It is very disheartening for the guards to apprehend a criminal and then have witnesses refuse to swear up.

Not sure on that statement above. One of my mates f***ed up a while ago when he was 17 and the whole story appeared in the local newspaper. No children's court for him. He was 17 when he committed the crime and 17 when it went to court. He was named and shamed.

However, it is very unlikely that you would be interrogated on the witness stand. You might be asked to identify the wallet/purse but I can't see you being asked any unsavoury details. And if they don't ask, you don't tell. Like earlier posters said, this is a slam-dunk case for the cops.

qwertytlk

I see no one can definatley verify the childrens court age limit so best thing to do it to ring the guard you were dealing with and ask them what the situation will be. As one poster said his friend did something at 17 and it wasnt it the childrens court. But something in the back of my mind is ttelling me that it depends on the crime as i think they can decide to charge you as an adult onces your a certain age. Also it may be a case of wheater he pleads guilty or not. If he does then you may not be required to even show your face. Also as there is a sexual nature to the crime(kind of)then they may not even be allowed publish your actual details. But again i am only speculating. I actally think this is more the case in specific sexual assualt/rape cases. You should take a note of all questions and either call the guard and ask or arrange to meet. Best of luck with everything, while i agree you did nothing wrong, i can completley see where your coming from so i hope it can all be resolved without any publicity.

Overheal

Thanks for sharing the story: glad the guy got caught.

You have little to be ashamed of but I can imagine only half of how you must feel. I would speak with the Gardai about free legal counsel to protect your identity outside of the court room itself. That is, it would mean nobody goes public with your name when the story is written about, etc.

Ultimately though OP I hope you are brave enough to go through with it. You'll be keeping this piece of trash away from others for quite some time if you do.

uck51js9zml2yt

I don't know if the gardai told you but you should consider getting help in dealing with what happened from Victim Support.

Milk & Honey

qwertytlk wrote: »

I see no one can definatley verify the childrens court age limit so best thing to do it to ring the guard you were dealing with and ask them what the situation will be. As one poster said his friend did something at 17 and it wasnt it the childrens court. But something in the back of my mind is ttelling me that it depends on the crime as i think they can decide to charge you as an adult onces your a certain age. Also it may be a case of wheater he pleads guilty or not. If he does then you may not be required to even show your face. Also as there is a sexual nature to the crime(kind of)then they may not even be allowed publish your actual details. But again i am only speculating. I actally think this is more the case in specific sexual assualt/rape cases. You should take a note of all questions and either call the guard and ask or arrange to meet. Best of luck with everything, while i agree you did nothing wrong, i can completley see where your coming from so i hope it can all be resolved without any publicity.

CHILDREN ACT, 2001

“child” means a person under the age of 18 years;

71.—(1) (a) The District Court, when hearing charges against children or when hearing applications for orders relating to a child at which the attendance of the child is required or when exercising any other jurisdiction conferred on the Children Court by or under this or any other Act or by Part III, IV, IVA (inserted by this Act) or V of the Act of 1991, shall be known as the Children Court and is referred to as “the Court” in this Part and Part 8.

(b) When exercising any such jurisdiction the Court shall sit in a different building or room from that in which sittings of any other court are held or on different days or at different times from those on or at which sittings of any such other court are held.

93.—(1) In relation to any proceedings before the Court against a child or in relation to a child under Part 9—

(a) no report shall be published or included in a broadcast which reveals the name, address or school of any child concerned in the proceedings or includes any particulars likely to lead to the identification of any child concerned in the proceedings, and

(b) no picture shall be published or included in a broadcast as being or including a picture of any child concerned in the proceedings or which is likely to lead to his or her identification.

94.—(1) The Court shall exclude from the hearing of any proceedings before it all persons except—

(a) officers of the Court,

(b) the parents or guardian of the child concerned,

(c) an adult relative of the child, or other adult who attends the Court pursuant to section 91 (6),

(d) persons directly concerned in the proceedings,

(e) bona fide representatives of the Press, and

(f) such other persons (if any) as the Court may at its discretion permit to remain.

(2) The order or decision of the Court (if any) in any such proceedings shall be announced in public.