Revelations from sexual assault inquiries cause increasing concern within Order of Malta

The Order of Malta failed to take action against a volunteer accused of sexually assaulting two young men, prior to the man going on to molest two teenagers, according to two separate inquiries into the case.

The first aid organisation has been battling a controversy that has continued to unravel in recent months over a former volunteer, Scott Browne, who was convicted of abusing two 15-year-old boys.

Revelations the organisation had been aware of two previous alleged sexual assaults by the ambulance corps volunteer has caused increasing concern within its ranks.

In May 2015, an 18-year-old volunteer alleged he had been sexually assaulted by Browne, during an overseas trip with the organisation to Lourdes. Then in late 2017 the organisation received a second complaint, alleging that Browne had used first-aid medication to drug and then sexually assault an unconscious 18-year-old volunteer.

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Browne (32), from Co Kildare, later went on to sexually abuse two 15-year-old boys in separate incidents in May 2018. On both occasions the boys were abused after being knocked unconscious by strong pain-relief medication Browne had stolen from the Order of Malta.

[ Review criticises flaws in Order of Malta response to abuse claim ]

[ Order of Malta faces turmoil amid further revelations ]

[ Rome appoints senior figure to oversee Irish Order of Malta ]

Browne was jailed for 9½ years in 2020 over the abuse of the underage boys, with another Kildare volunteer, Jordan Murphy (22), jailed for 5½ years this May for aiding and abetting him.

Browne’s involvement with the Order of Malta could not be reported in the media when he pleaded guilty and was jailed, as Murphy was due to stand trial. When Murphy changed his plea to guilty earlier this year, those restrictions were lifted.

The board of the Irish arm of the Order of Malta, known as the council, has been bracing for a public fallout over the case for more than a year.

Two separate reports, conducted last year and seen by The Irish Times, criticised several failings in how the organisation responded to the prior complaints about Browne.

An independent report by safeguarding consultant Patrick Brosnan found there was a “significant shortcoming” in how the ambulance corps responded to the first allegation made against Browne in 2015. The report said while the alleged sexual assault was investigated by regional officers, senior officials and statutory authorities were not informed, which it said was a “serious omission”.

It found there was a year-and-a-half delay in statutory authorities becoming aware of allegations against Browne, which it said “undoubtedly” had implications for other victims. Despite the prior complaint about Browne in 2015, the report noted he was removed as a volunteer only after gardaí began investigating the abuse of the two underage boys in 2018.

Mr Brosnan, a retired senior Health Service Executive official, criticised the fact the volunteer’s local ambulance corps unit was not informed about the allegations. “Failure to do this was a safeguarding omission that undoubtedly could have prevented other young people, both internal and external to the Order of Malta, from being placed in possible danger,” he said in his report, which had been commissioned by the organisation on foot of an earlier internal inquiry.

What is abundantly clear is that reporting was not deemed to be important and, irrespective of that, preventive and curative action appear to be totally absent

—  Internal report

Two senior members of the order, Patrick Clyne, a former judge and council vice-president, and John Igoe, chairman of its audit committee, were initially tasked with examining the controversy, which had yet to become public.

An internal report by the pair found the order “must take a long and hard look” at what it said were “very serious shortcomings” in the case. It said the failure to notify the council at the time the allegations were reported to ambulance corps officers amounted to “withholding information”, which “deprived” it of an earlier chance to deal with the controversy.

“What is abundantly clear is that reporting was not deemed to be important and, irrespective of that, preventive and curative action appear to be totally absent,” they wrote.

Their report set out that current deputy director of the ambulance corps, David Birchall, was involved in investigating the 2015 alleged sexual assault at the time as a regional director. While it appeared the case had been discussed at a meeting of regional officers, “no record exists of the discussions or outcome of that meeting”, the report said.

Browne had been interviewed but denied the sexual assault allegation. Mr Birchall told the review as a result “the investigation was unable to substantiate the complaint” and, as such, said “no actions I am aware of were taken”.

When asked whether he had reported the alleged assault to more senior officers at the time, he said he did not “recall the reporting lines”, but added “the outcome of unable to proceed would have been communicated, possibly verbally”, the report said. It noted that there was “no recorded reporting of this matter further up the line at that time”.

When the second alleged sexual assault of an 18-year-old by Browne was reported to the Order of Malta in late 2017, the report said this should have set off “serious alarm signals”.

In that case, Browne had allegedly used first-aid medication to drug and then sexually assault the young man when he was unconscious. The report said it was “incomprehensible” that the allegations were not immediately escalated to the council.

Internal emails show John Wright, current national director of the ambulance corps, was aware of complaints about Browne reported in late 2017.

The organisation reported the second alleged assault to Tusla, the child and family agency, which responded with a series of “serious recommendations”, the report said. The two senior figures said they found “no evidence” to show these recommendations had been acted on.

The report was critical that despite the two prior reports about Browne, “nothing further was done by way of preventative action” until gardaí began investigating the abuse of the two 15-year-old boys in May 2018. When the Order of Malta became aware of the Garda investigation, it moved to suspend him, at which point he resigned as a volunteer.

What would happen if the parents of the two 15 year olds abused by Browne in 2018 were to discover the details of prior allegations reported to the organisation as early as 2015?

—  Desmond Carroll, then-chancellor of the council

The report concluded that the organisation should examine what it could have done to “possibly prevent the very serious crime that later occurred”, where Browne molested the two underage boys. It questioned whether the ambulance corps had been “fulfilling its duty of care to its volunteers”, many of whom were juveniles.

The findings of the two reports created serious disquiet within the upper ranks of the order, deepening existing tensions between the ambulance corps and senior figures on the council.

In a memo dated August 30th, 2021, Desmond Carroll, the then-chancellor of the council, issued a “stark warning” to the other members.

Mr Carroll asked what would happen if the parents of the two 15 year olds abused by Browne in 2018 were to “discover the details” of prior allegations reported to the organisation as early as 2015. The order could be open to legal action “for not taking due diligence in preventing such criminal assaults on their children three years later”, he wrote.

Further internal correspondence shows the abuse controversy was on the radar of the headquarters of the religious order in Rome.

In a letter dated December 20th, 2021, the then-grand chancellor of the order, Albrecht von Boeselager, told the Irish organisation an independent third party “must be engaged” to fully investigate the sexual abuse case. In response, the Irish organisation indicated it would not be able to commission a full investigation while criminal court proceedings were ongoing.

However, when the court cases concluded this May the council opted to appoint an internal team to conduct a full investigation, which is ongoing. The team is made up of the organisation’s current chief executive, John Byrne, his predecessor Peadar Ward, as well as one external figure, retired assistant Garda commissioner Fintan Fanning.

A spokeswoman for the Order of Malta said the organisation could not comment while that work was under way. “We’re nearing the end of that review period and are eager to utilise it as an opportunity to continue the development of the Order of Malta ambulance corps’ procedures and practices,” she said.

Mr Birchall, ambulance corps deputy director, said he had not seen either of the two previous reports, so could not comment on their findings. “As you are aware, the cases you highlighted are currently part of an internal review, which is ongoing, the results of which will help to further enhance our processes and procedures,” he said.

Mr Wright, the director of the ambulance corps, said he was also unable to comment while the review was ongoing.