Ex-soldier loses claim over Army liability

A FORMER soldier who claimed he was sexually assaulted by a sergeant major over several years while serving in the Defence Forces has lost a Supreme Court bid to have the Army and/or State found vicariously liable for the alleged assaults.

The man alleged the Army negligently failed to protect him from alleged sexual assaults by Sgt Maj Patrick Devereux, Glenabbey Road, Kildare, on dates between 1990 and 1995. The three-judge Supreme Court yesterday ruled the case fell considerably short of establishing a finding of vicarious liability for the “criminal activities” of Sgt Devereux.

To find otherwise would be to rule the Defence Forces would be liable for almost all acts or omissions by employees and “undermine the basis of any army”, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns said.

The case was brought against Mr Devereux, the Minister for Defence and the State. Mr Devereux did not appear before the High Court and it heard a compromise had been reached between him and the plaintiff.

The High Court then had to decide whether the Defence Forces and State bore vicarious liability for the alleged assaults.

While finding the former soldier was telling the truth about the assaults, and had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result, the High Court ruled the balance of evidence was against negligence by the Army and State over the assaults and they could not be held vicariously liable for them.

Giving the Supreme Court’s judgment upholding those findings, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns noted the man joined the Army at the age of 19 and was an accomplished sportsman.

He said the sexual abuse began in Sgt Devereux’s office about 1989 and continued until 1995. The man felt dirty, ashamed and guilty as a result, partly because he did not have the courage to report the matter, and also because he felt they would not believe the claims of “a mere gunner”.

When the man’s contract expired in 1997, he left the Army, began drinking heavily, his marriage broke up and he developed post-traumatic stress disorder. His experiences emerged in 1998 after a soldier told him of a similar incident involving Sgt Devereux and another soldier.