# getting access to a persons criminal record



## kitty177 (15 Dec 2009)

Long story short, i have heard from someone (reliable) that my sisters boyfriend was convicted of sexual assualt 11 years ago, i told my sister and she asked me could i look into it for her before confronting him. 

Sister is staying with me for a few weeks trying to get her head around this, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Am i legally entitled to do that, to check another persons criminal background??? 

thank you


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## sustanon (15 Dec 2009)

I once had a road rage incident, and went to the Garda station and reporded the plate number. The Garda ran the name through the computer, and responded "Oh, yes, we've head of him before", I'd construe that as letting me know the bloke had a record.. Maybe that's all you need? nod and a wink.....


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## kitty177 (15 Dec 2009)

sustanon said:


> I once had a road rage incident, and went to the Garda station and reporded the plate number. The Garda ran the name through the computer, and responded "Oh, yes, we've head of him before", I'd construe that as letting me know the bloke had a record.. Maybe that's all you need? nod and a wink.....


 

Thank you for that, maybe it is just as simple as that, we're both here thinking that we'll have to go through all sorts of legal channels and such.  but maybe the Garda may be sympathetic to our situation.  

I wonder is there any access to a sex offenders register or is there no such thing in Ireland???


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## jambo.ie (15 Dec 2009)

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/c...nal-law/criminal-trial/sex-offenders-register

No register as such and the act was only passed in 2001 so he would not be subject to it.


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## DavyJones (15 Dec 2009)

Why not save a lot of work and just ask him.


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## truthseeker (15 Dec 2009)

DavyJones said:


> Why not save a lot of work and just ask him.


 
I couldnt agree more. If its her boyfriend then why doesnt she just ask him?


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## onq (15 Dec 2009)

With witnesses around who will intervene.

And be ready for the usual excuses.

ONQ.


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## truthseeker (15 Dec 2009)

You could also try just googling his name, sometimes convictions make it into online versions of newspapers - although 11 years ago is a long shot.


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## onq (15 Dec 2009)

To be fair to the guy, 11 years is a long time.

And be sure to independently check the source and circumstances.

Three have been plenty of horror tales of guys going out with girls to who looked their age but weren't and lied about it.

If caught, its an open and shut case, ignorance is no defence, with the guy having little or no chance of remaining unconvicted even though no crime was intended.

ONQ.


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## ali (15 Dec 2009)

onq said:


> To be fair to the guy, 11 years is a long time.
> 
> What do you mean by this?
> 
> A.


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## kitty177 (15 Dec 2009)

hi all,

thank for replies,

my sister is living with me now, she would rather have the facts of this than to be lied to. as i said in original post its a long story but we just want to know the truth and we feel he may not tell us the truth. 

Who knows what way he will react, if she asks him straight out

this has been a real shock to us


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## woodbine (15 Dec 2009)

Hi kitty. 

A guy i worked with years ago has a criminal conviction for sexual assault. 

it happened at a house party when he and the girl were both very drunk.

The following morning the girl accused him and he was eventually convicted and spent time in jail. 

I can't and wouldn't assume to know what happened because i wasn't there, but sometimes things happen that no-one except those present know the absolute truth. And maybe sometimes it can happen that even those who are there don't know the full truth. 

i can fully understand how yourself and your sister feel, and your need for an answer. maybe the shadow of the conviction (if it's true) will always be a barrier between them and it might be best to finish the relationship now. 

best of luck.


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## truthseeker (15 Dec 2009)

kitty177 said:


> Who knows what way he will react, if she asks him straight out


 
Just to side step from the original issue for a moment. If your sister is in a relationship with someone whom she feels she cannot ask a straight question to then I would think there is no real point in continuing the relationship anyway.

Also if she feels he may lie about it and that she cannot trust his answer - there would seem little point in continuing the relationship at all.

If a relationship does not have mutual trust and respect as its foundation then it is not worth continuing with.

Its possible that the sexual assualt story is simply a story, no basis in fact etc... But I dont understand how the guy would be able to prove that if you feel before even asking him that he would lie about it. There would always be an element of doubt, even if he could come up with proof that there was no criminal record, would your sister be doubting her assessment of him as a character, fearful that perhaps there is no smoke without fire etc?

Whatever the truth happens to be, the mere fact that she may not trust his answer, and is concerned to how he might react if asked about this is enough reason to cut the relationship loose imo.


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## runner (15 Dec 2009)

Well said, Truthseeker.


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## z107 (15 Dec 2009)

Why was this 'reliable source' doing background checks on this person in the first place? - Is there more to this story?


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## onq (15 Dec 2009)

ali said:


> onq said:
> 
> 
> > To be fair to the guy, 11 years is a long time.
> ...


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## ali (15 Dec 2009)

onq said:


> ali said:
> 
> 
> > Our attitudes to sex and relationships change with each decade of our lives.
> ...


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## kitty177 (15 Dec 2009)

umop3p!sdn said:


> Why was this 'reliable source' doing background checks on this person in the first place? - Is there more to this story?


 

yes, there is more to this story but its not mine to tell.  We just want the truth. my sister is staying with me indefinitly because this has had such a huge impact on her.  She just wants to know the truth about this man and if he has lied about this, what else has he lied about. 

We just  want facts, and is there a somewhere a person can go to get these.

Thank you


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## truthseeker (15 Dec 2009)

According to this (rather old) article in the Tribune, a private investigator would be able to find this information out for you.

http://www.tribune.ie/archive/artic...e-investigators-routinely-given-access-to-pe/

Could be worth a try.


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## onq (15 Dec 2009)

ali said:


> onq said:
> 
> 
> > We're talking about an alleged sexual assault here; not sex and relationships.
> ...


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## bond-007 (15 Dec 2009)

truthseeker said:


> According to this (rather old) article in the Tribune, a private investigator would be able to find this information out for you.
> 
> http://www.tribune.ie/archive/artic...e-investigators-routinely-given-access-to-pe/
> 
> Could be worth a try.


Do let us know how prison is.


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## kitty177 (16 Dec 2009)

I have done a lot of research on line today and also phoned a solicitor, apparently there is no sex offenders list in Ireland.  

Most of solicitors files are burned after 5 yrs.

I do believe some people can be rehabilitated from such crimes but there are other who never show remorse and continue to destroy lives.

Shouldn't such a registar be available in Ireland.


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## bond-007 (16 Dec 2009)

retracted


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## onq (16 Dec 2009)

If you had bothered to read through the links I posted you'd have seen this.
I cannot vouch for the information therein, but it seems to clarify the matter a little.
Again, the original offence referred to by the OP appears to precede the Sex Offenders Act 2001.

FWIW

ONQ

========================================================

[broken link removed]

*Monitoring sex offenders in Ireland*

*Introduction                         *

 Upon conviction of a [broken link removed] in Ireland, the court is required to issue a certificate, stating the offence, to the Gardaí, the convicted offender and the governor of the facility where the offender is to be detained. The certificate also sets out the sentence received and the fact that the person has become subject to a reporting requirement.
 The court issues this certificate on behalf of the Gardaí to the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit. This means that details of everyone subject to the requirements of the Sex Offenders Act 2001 are given to the Domestic Violence and Sex Assault Unit who keep a record of each individual by way of the court certificate (commonly known as the Sex Offenders Register). This information is then cross-referenced with the Sex Offenders Notification Form supplied by the local Garda Station and in this way the sex offenders may be monitored.
 At a local level the Gardaí, through nominated Inspectors, regularly make enquiries to ensure that the sex offenders in the local district are still residing at the address given in the notification form and that all the information contained in the notification form is accurate and up to date. A nominated Inspector in each Garda Division has responsibility for liaising with the central Garda Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit for the purpose of monitoring the application of the Sex Offenders Act 2001 in general. 
*
Rules                         *

*Post-release supervision*

 When a court convicts someone of a qualifying sexual offence it is obliged when sentencing the offender to consider whether or not to impose a sentence involving post-release supervision. In doing so the court must take the following into account:


The need for a period of post-release supervision of the offender
The need to protect the public from serious harm from the offender
The need to prevent the commission of further sexual offences by the offender
The need to rehabilitate or further rehabilitate the offender
 In deciding whether or not to impose a sentence involving post-release supervision the court may hear evidence or submissions from any concerned person. Any period of post-release supervision imposed on the sex offender by the court will be supervised by the Probation Service which liaises with the Gardaí in order to ensure the sex offender complies with the supervision order. Examples of conditions which the court may include in the order of supervision are:


Prohibiting the sex offender from attending certain places, such as schools, sports-clubs and play-grounds
Requiring the sex offender to receive psychological counselling or other appropriate treatment during the period of supervision
 If a sex offender fails or refuses to comply, without reasonable excuse, with the requirements relating to supervision, the offender is committing an offence and is liable, if convicted, to a fine not exceeding €1,900 or to imprisonment for a maximum of 12 months or both.

* Monitoring sex offenders from other jurisdictions in Ireland
*
 A provision was included in the Sex Offenders Act, 2001 to ensure that Ireland would not become a safe-haven for sex offenders convicted outside Ireland who might seek to avoid the reporting requirements imposed on them by the place of conviction.
 Anyone who is convicted of a sexual offence in another country and who later moves to Ireland is subject to a reporting requirement in the same way as someone convicted in Ireland, provided that the sexual crime corresponds to a sexual crime in Ireland which gives rise to the reporting requirements. There is also a notification requirement where the person is already subject to a similar reporting requirement under the law of the place of conviction. Such people are required to notify the Gardaí if they have been resident in Ireland for 7 days.
 In reality the Gardaí in Ireland have a very good system of receiving and giving information from and to police forces through Interpol. There is worldwide acceptance that police forces have a duty of care to all citizens to share such information on sex offenders where there is a real danger to vulnerable people if exposed to such persons. 

* Employment *

 The Sex Offenders Act, 2001 also places requires sex offenders to inform prospective employers of the nature of their conviction when applying to do work that consists mainly of the offender having unsupervised access to or contact with a child or children or a mentally impaired person. If someone fails to notify an employer the offender could be fined up to €12,697 or sentenced up to 5 years in prison or both.

* Can I find out if a sex offender lives in my area?
*
 No. The details held by the Gardaí in relation to those persons guilty of sex offences and who are subject to the requirements of the Sex Offenders Act 2001 are not subject to freedom of information legislation. You are not entitled, therefore, to apply under the Freedom of Information Acts to find out details of sex offenders living in your area.
 Under the Data Protection Acts, 1988-2003 you are entitled to request information held about yourself on computer or in manual or paper files. This includes information held by the Gardaí (with a number of exceptions). Under the data protection legislation, however, the only person entitled to request this information held about you is yourself. It is not possible  for you to make such a request in respect of another person. Further information on [broken link removed].

*Last Updated: *                 8/4/2008

<I've edited the positions of some headings which appeared to attach to preceding paragraps, not following ones and I've removed the "jump-to" headings at the top of the page>


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## csirl (17 Dec 2009)

If he was convicted in Court, then provided the victim isnt a minor (protecting identity), then you should be able to obtain the details of the conviction from the court office of whatever court handed out the conviction. Court proceedings in Ireland are open to the public, so nothing is confidential. More than likely that the conviction was in either the Circuit Criminal or Central Criminal Court, so these offices would be the best place to start. Not sure how computerised the courts are with their records, so having more details such as a rough timeframe and the offenders details would probably help you track the judgement down more easily. As a last resort if you cant find anything, then try a FOI request for the transcript of the case.


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## kitty177 (17 Dec 2009)

csirl said:


> If he was convicted in Court, then provided the victim isnt a minor (protecting identity), then you should be able to obtain the details of the conviction from the court office of whatever court handed out the conviction. Court proceedings in Ireland are open to the public, so nothing is confidential. More than likely that the conviction was in either the Circuit Criminal or Central Criminal Court, so these offices would be the best place to start. Not sure how computerised the courts are with their records, so having more details such as a rough timeframe and the offenders details would probably help you track the judgement down more easily. As a last resort if you cant find anything, then try a FOI request for the transcript of the case.


 

thank you so much for this, its the best possible route, i think.


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## ShadyBrady (18 Dec 2009)

csirl said:


> If he was convicted in Court, then provided the victim isnt a minor (protecting identity), then you should be able to obtain the details of the conviction from the court office of whatever court handed out the conviction. Court proceedings in Ireland are open to the public, so nothing is confidential. More than likely that the conviction was in either the Circuit Criminal or Central Criminal Court, so these offices would be the best place to start. Not sure how computerised the courts are with their records, so having more details such as a rough timeframe and the offenders details would probably help you track the judgement down more easily. As a last resort if you cant find anything, then try a FOI request for the transcript of the case.


. As far as I know an FOI request will not give details of his case as it is personal to him


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