Authorities in Northern Ireland have identified “multiple” potential victims of a former police officer accused of rape and other sexual crimes.
The Police Ombudsman’s office said Tuesday it was allocating all available resources to the case given its “impact, scale and complexity.”
Ombudsman investigators arrested the former officer in December 2025 on suspicion of committing more than 10 crimes, including rape, while serving in the police between 2000 and 2009.
“We have identified multiple potential victims, along with a substantial number of witnesses,” Hugh Hume, the ombudsman’s executive director, said in a statement. “We have also seized a large volume of material, including a significant amount of digital evidence, during a search operation.”
Hume said the scope of the investigation meant other cases could be affected.
“As the impact on victims, the scale and complexity of the investigation has become clear, we are now working to ensure this investigation is carried out in the most timely manner possible. We are therefore allocating all available resources to ensure it is victim-focused and effective and efficient. Our resources are finite and this means that the timeliness of our other cases may be affected.”
The ombudsman needed to balance the demands of this “complex and sprawling investigation” with other cases, Hume said. “If we do not prioritize now, in the long term we risk compromising the service we provide to complainants and victims, and the public’s trust in this office and the PSNI,” he said.
Under the terms of the Good Friday agreement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland replaced the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 2001.
Hume said news of the expanded investigation could be distressing for anyone who has been affected, harmed, or harmed by a similar experience. “We would like to reassure victims that they are not to blame and that if they choose to contact us, we will listen to them, we will investigate and we will do so independently of the police.”
He encouraged anyone with concerns about similar allegations of wrongdoing to contact the police ombudsman.
Doug Beattie, Stormont Ulster Unionist assembly member, backed the decision to prioritize the case and said potential victims should be given appropriate support and information. “Those victims and witnesses who may not yet have come forward should be assured that it is not their fault and should be given confidence in the Ombudsman’s investigation.”
Prioritizing the case would have a knock-on effect on other cases, Beattie said. “This is unfortunate, but given the magnitude of this case, it is the right thing to do. The victims must be at the center of this serious, multi-layered investigation.”
Police Board member and Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP) assembly member Colin McGrath called the case “deeply disturbing” and called for additional funding for the police ombudsman.
