Police investigate report of sexual assault on teenage girl in Co Down
Police are investigating a report of a sexual assault on a teenage girl in Co Down.
Officers are investigating the alleged incident in the Samson's Lane area, off the Ardglass Road, in Downpatrick shortly after 8.30am on Tuesday.
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Local district commander Superintendent Norman Haslett said he wanted to reassure the community that there will be a 'noticeable increase in police patrols in the area in the coming days and weeks'.
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He also issued an appeal for anyone with information to come forward and speak to police.
'I want to reassure the community that a dedicated, skilled and specialist trained team of detectives are working at pace to support the victim of this crime and to progress the investigation,' he said.
'I would appeal to anyone who may have been in the area yesterday morning, or who has any information that could help our investigation, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to please bring it to us by calling 101, quoting reference 353 24/06/25 or online at https://www.psni.police.uk/report.'
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'On operations, to be compliant with the Human Rights Act, soldiers need their own lawyer on speed dial to advise them if there's a chance they might have to kill someone. The situation is beyond absurd. Soldiers didn't sign up to defend activist judges or a European legal system.' The case at the centre of the campaign involves the 1992 shooting of four IRA terrorists by SAS soldiers in Clonoe, County Tyrone. Following a police investigation and inquiries by the coroner, the RUC concluded at the time that there should be no prosecutions. The soldiers stated their use of lethal force was reasonable due to the threat posed by the IRA. However, last year they were ordered to appear before a new 'legacy inquest'. Coroner Mr Justice Humphreys ruled in February the soldiers' use of force was excessive, despite the terrorists having a heavy machine-gun and other guns. He claimed there was no attempt to arrest the four IRA men and determined, more than 30 years after the incident, that the soldiers should have waited for the IRA gang to disassemble the machine gun. The Ministry of Defence has vowed to challenge his verdict. But in the meantime, files have been passed to the Director of Public Prosecutions in Northern Ireland. This could trigger a criminal investigation. Last night, former SAS CO Aldwin Wight said it was absurd that the soldiers who confronted the IRA at Clonoe 'should have to face the possibility of criminal action based on a subsequent flawed inquest three decades later, under a law that didn't exist in 1992.' He said it 'will prove calamitous for national security. Nobody is going to volunteer to expose themselves to this sort of legal nonsense. 'When are ministers going to wake up to the need to protect serving and retired personnel from this creeping lawfare?' Relatives of the IRA terrorists brought the 'legacy inquest' citing Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the 1998 Human Rights Act. The previous Tory government brought in the Legacy Act to protect Northern Ireland veterans from prosecution and endless investigations. But Labour's manifesto included a pledge to repeal the 'unlawful' Act. The Northern Ireland Office has pledged to replace it 'in a way that is lawful, fair and that enables families, including military families, to find answers'.
