This follows a damning report by the Police Ombudsman regarding Cahill’s alleged child abuse case and how it was poorly handled.
Máiría Cahill – the Irish politician who, back in 2010, told members of the PSNI that she had been raped by an alleged IRA member – has rejected an apology issued by Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonalds which expressed regret for how it handled her allegation of rape.
Cahill claims she was raped as a teenager by an alleged IRA member between 1997 and 1998 and that Sinn Féin and the IRA tried to cover it up.
McDonald – in a public statement posted to the party’s website – apologised “unreservedly” to Cahill on the same day an Ombudsman report criticised police investigations into the case.
However, Cahill has replied to that apology, claiming that it was inadequate on several fronts.
“They told everyone I was a liar,” she posted on her personal Twitter profile. “Now let’s hear them admit that I told the truth.”
PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton has since apologised for mishandling the situation, adding to the women’s “hurt and distress”.
“At the heart of this report are three victims abused as children, who were then failed by their police service,” his statement reads.
“I apologise unequivocally for the hurt and distress caused to them and for the failures in the police investigation. The Police Service of Northern Ireland fully supports the Office of the Police Ombudsman. It is an essential part of the mechanisms by which we can be held to account.”
Three PSNI officers have been disciplined as a result of the Police Ombudsman’s findings.
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