The mother, who cannot be named, is alleged to have let different men
sexually abuse her daughter when she was aged between four and nine
A girl has told police that she
was repeatedly raped by a gang of men (stock image)
A young girl was raped from the ages of four to nine - and her mother knew
all about it, police have revealed.
The girl, who is now 10, told detectives that she was repeatedly sexually
abused over a five-year period by different men, leading to the arrests of
seven people.
Seven people were arrested last week over
the alleged abuse of the 10-year-old,
whose parents are Lithuanian.
Two women, including the alleged victim’s mum and her uncle, were among
those questioned by detectives on Wednesday night.
A security source said: “This is one of
the worst examples of alleged child abuse
that officers have ever encountered. It is absolutely horrific. On a scale of
one to 10 this ranks at around a 20.”
The Irish Mirror has
learned the young girl was taken into care last year by the HSE.
And during interviews with child psychologists she claimed she was
repeatedly sexually assaulted by a number of men when she was aged between four
and nine.
The child was living with her mother in South Dublin at the time the
attacks took place.
She told gardai she was brought by her mother to a number of houses where
she was forced by different men to perform horrific sex acts.
Gardai have been unable to establish if money was exchanged. Although the
alleged abuse began when the girl was four, officers believe the worst attacks
took place when she was aged between six and nine.
Gardai arrested the seven people early on Wednesday in Dublin and Wexford.
The two women are aged in their 40s and the five men are ranging in ages
from 19 to 47.
The second woman is believed to be a pal of the child’s mother and both are
being questioned over allegations they facilitated the abuse.
Four of the men are Eastern European while the fifth man is a UK national.
They are currently being detained in a number of stations in the South
Dublin area and can be held for up to 24 hours.
Caroline O’Sullivan, Director of Services with the Irish Society of the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children, said cases like this can be reassuring for
young abuse victims as it will encourage more of them to speak out.
She added: “Children are seeing this and the one very positive thing about
this happening is that children see that there is a response.
“That a child has been taken seriously, that there has been an arrest. That
the child has been believed and it might give them the courage to come forward.
“The big concern a lot of parents have is how can they protect their children.
And what we would say is we’re all human, we can only do so much.
“But what we can do is teach our children around unwanted touching and
teasing and whatever.
“We are very slow as parents to do that in Ireland.
“We are very quick to teach our children how to stay safe crossing the road
and how to stay safe in loads of different ways but when it comes to sexual
abuse, very often parents want to avoid even discussing that.”
Ms O’Sullivan urged parents to use simple and age appropriate language when
speaking about the subject.
Culled from Daily Mirror
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