Key Sentence:
- Ireland’s Minister of Justice has apologized to the family of a woman who committed suicide shortly after a member of the Guard (Irish Police) shared nude photos of her online.
Dara Quigley, 36, died in April 2017, days after her CCTV footage was uploaded to the internet. She was photographed naked and in trouble on a Dublin street five days before her death. Secretary Heather Humphreys said sharing video surveillance systems were “completely unacceptable.”
“I want to say I’m very sorry for what happened; it shouldn’t have happened,” said Ms. Humphreys told Ireland’s Minister Of State Irish television RT. The head of the force, Guard Commissioner Drew Harris, also apologized for the “unacceptable breach of trust” by one from his officers, who has resigned.
Quigley’s death is being investigated this week, Ireland’s Minister Of State and Tipper Coroner’s Court heard details of the video surveillance leak and subsequent investigation by a police observer. The journalist and blogger suffered from mental health issues and addiction. And was vulnerable when he was arrested on April 7, 2017, on Harcourt Street in Dublin.
A Guard team member received a copy of the CCTV footage and shared it on social media.
Where it was viewed about 125,000 times before being downloaded. Quigley committed suicide on April 12, 2017, and his body was found in Laf Derg, Tipperary. In a 2019 interview with Radio RTÉ, Ms. Quigley, Aileen Malone, said that her daughter knew that CCTV footage was being uploaded to the internet before she died.
Excerpts from the letter from the Commissioner of the Guard were read in court this week. According to the Irish Times. Harris apologized for the guard’s actions, which “grossly violated” Ms. Quigley.
Bild, Attorney General Heather Humphries said she was prepared to meet with Ms. Quigley to apologize personally. Speaking to radio station RTÉ, Humphreys said on Wednesday: “As Minister of Justice, I would also like to apologize to the family from the late Dara.
“You’ve suffered enough from losing Dara without having to face it.”
The minister added: “The Síochána Guard has a code of conduct that all members of the force must adhere to. He said this included “policies and procedures for the abuse of power for sexual gain” and that Garda employees who failed to do so would be held accountable. Mr. Humphreys said the government introduced a new law last year that made it a crime to distribute intimate photos without consent.
The Harassment, Adverse Communication, and Related Offenses Act 2017 was sign in December last year. The bill is also known like Coco’s Law after Nicole Fox, who lives in Dublin. Fox, known as his family’s Cocoa, died by suicide after years of online harassment.