Gardaí are to send a file to the DPP after releasing without charge a garda accused of raping a colleague during a night out in Cork city almost two weeks ago.
Gardaí arrested the officer at about 3pm on Saturday and detained him under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act at Togher Garda station in Cork for questioning, before releasing him without charge at about 9pm.
The arrest followed a complaint from a female garda that the garda raped her following a party in the early hours of January 26th after a group of gardaí from Co Cork had attended a social night out at a sporting event in the city.
The Irish Times has learned that some of the gardaí at the sporting event later went on to a nightclub in the city centre before going on to a drinks party at a house in the south side of the city, where the incident allegedly occurred at about 6am.
It is understood that two female officers had gone to sleep in an upstairs room when a male officer got into bed beside one of the women and made advances towards her, only for the woman to rebuff him.
The man then turned to the other female garda who initially thought he was someone else and responded to his advances before she realised that the man wasn't whom she thought he was.
The young woman was distressed and later made a complaint to the gardaí in Togher that she was raped by the named garda.
An investigation team was appointed by Garda authorities to investigate the complaint.
Officers from the team, which is headed by Supt Gerard Dillane of Togher and Insp Michael Comyns of Anglesea Street Garda station, Cork, carried out a technical examination of the scene and some items were removed for forensic examination.
Following the incident, the woman was taken to the sexual assault unit at the South Infirmary/Victoria Hospital in Cork city where she was examined and samples taken for examination.
Investigating gardaí have taken statements from the alleged victim and the accused garda, as well as others who were at the social night, including the other female garda who was in the bedroom at the time of the alleged incident.
The garda at the centre of the complaint was suspended temporarily over the weekend to allow for his arrest but he has moved stations since the incident.
The other garda has returned to work.
A Garda Press Office spokesman confirmed yesterday that a garda was arrested on Saturday and held at Togher Garda Station under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act for questioning about an alleged sexual assault.