The Sunday World has reported that the mother of a male teenager suspected of assaulting a passenger at Howth Junction Dart station has threatened to sue Irish Rail after footage of the incident was leaked.
The attack saw one female fall under the train, after other young women were confronted, intimidated and reportedly spat upon by a group of teenage males on bicycles.
Viral CCTV videos of the incident were shared across social media, with many users appalled at the behaviour of the male teenagers who are seen harassing female passengers about to board.
The Sunday World’s anonymous source reports that the mother of one suspected attacker was “angry that her son was visible in the footage and she’s looking to get a claim out of it.”
Irish Rail confirmed to the newspaper that an investigation into how the footage was leaked is ongoing.
“Customers have a right to expect that station CCTV is used for their safety and security, and to assist investigations, not to be distributed in an unauthorised manner,” the spokesman said.
“While our foremost priority is to assist the gardaí in ensuring those responsible are brought to justice, we are also investigating the unauthorised distribution of this footage and have reported the matter to the Data Protection Commissioner.”
Three teenagers, two of whom are aged 16 and one 13-year-old, were released by Gardaí without charge following their arrest last week.
Clothes, phones and bicycles were seized as part of early morning raids on several homes on the northside of Dublin.
In an unexpected development, Drumcondra-based Shelbourne FC issued a statement following the incident saying it would deal with this matter “promptly, properly and fairly”.
A spokesman for the club would not be drawn on whether any of its members were involved in the incident however.