A child sex abuse survivor says he feels “robbed of justice” after his attacker died while awaiting trial following numerous court delays.
Daniel Dolan appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court in February 2019 after being accused of sexually assaulting a young boy and girl in the 60s and 70s.
But one of the 80-year-old’s victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was contacted by police earlier this month and told that his abuser had died.
The man, 54, told the Daily Record how the sexual abuse, which started when he was just five-years-old, left him ‘wanting to die’.
He recalled watching the abuser beat his now-deceased mother while also playing twisted mind games which reduced him to tears.
After being contacted by police in 2018, the victim gave a full statement and believed justice would finally be served when Dolan was charged with lewd and libidinous behaviour.
But due to the coronavirus pandemic and his abuser’s failing health, he was called to give evidence on nine separate occasions with the case delayed each time.
He said: “I feel absolutely gutted. I feel angry. I feel upset and I feel robbed of justice. I wanted him to at least spend one day in jail so he could experience a fraction of the humiliation that he caused.
“And to have some acknowledgement from society that this kind of behaviour cannot be accepted in a modern day environment.
“Offences against children can shape that child’s future for many, many years to come and rob them of their hopes, their dreams and their aspirations. I was cited to give evidence on nine different occasions.
“This meant nine separate visits from two police officers on each occasion to hand over an A4 sheet of paper saying I had to go to Falkirk Sheriff Court.
“On at least four occasions, I flew up to stay in a hotel overnight only to then be told the day of the trial that because his health had deteriorated, the case was adjourned until further notice.”
He added: “Every time the case was listed, the court would refuse for it to be held remotely, everyone had to be there in person.
“That was made impossible by coronavirus. You were hearing about all these pop up courts and video links being done but that never happened in this case.
“It just didn’t make any sense. To me, the system is antiquated and it’s not fit for purpose. We’ve got someone who had been accused of some of the heinous crimes and yet they weren’t going to oppose bail.
“They were quite happy to let an alleged paedophile go free and perhaps carry out more offences before he’s been convicted. So they let him go about his merry way for the next three and a half years.”
The victim, who thankfully escaped his abuser during his teens, told how he refuses to let Dolan’s actions hold him back.
He explained: “After all this, I don’t hate him. I don’t have time to hate him. I’ve made a life for myself but I just wonder how I can stand here and feel nothing.
“I can’t remember anything good. All I can remember is him ripping all the Christmas tree lights down, smashing it. Ripping all the plugs off the TV and the radios.
“And I’d just be sitting there watching this mayhem. He would take great delight in making me sit at the dining room table and put an empty bowl in front of me.
“He would then say it was ‘nothing soup’ and I had to eat it all before I could leave the table.
“The first time he sexually abused me, I was around five-years-old. I was in bed and I felt this hand go under the quilt. I had my eyes closed.
“But I just remember feeling these long fingernails and hair on his forearm. This hand then started to travel up my leg towards my genitals.
“As soon as that happened, I let out the mightiest of screams which was loud enough to wake my mum.
“Dolan was standing there right in front of me and he was completely naked. I explained what had happened but I was told to go back to sleep.
“In the prevailing years there was a load of alcohol fuelled violence towards my mum which resulted in facial injuries, multiple lacerations and bruising which could easily be seen.
“It was a well known thing that no one went to the police because no one trusted them at that time. No one contacted social services either so it was to hell with the family and good luck.”
The abuse took place between 1972 and 1979 with his young victim powerless to stop it.
He said: “I’d turn on my side and I would just pray that I would die. I didn’t like how it felt and I knew it was wrong.
“I can’t formulate the words to try and comprehend why an adult would find it acceptable to do something like this to a child.
“I came back from school one day and my mum was sitting in the kitchen with him. He was in tears and my mum said they had something to tell me.
“They said he was being blackmailed because someone had found out that he had been in jail years ago for interfering with two young girls in the past.
“They said he was innocent but my head just exploded internally because I knew that it was true. Because he was doing it to me too.”
Dolan was also charged with abusing a girl by pressing his penis against her body, touching his genitals and masturbating in her presence between 1967 and 1968.
The abuse against both youngsters took place at various addresses throughout the Falkirk area.
A Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service spokesperson said: “There was a pre-trial hearing assigned for 4 May 2022 with the trial assigned for 6 June 2022, and there is no evidence of a motion being made at any point to have the trial proceed via video link.
“Mr Dolan’s case called on numerous occasions, and often adjourned to allow further enquiries around his health.”
A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service: “The Crown is committed to the effective, rigorous and fair prosecution of sexual crime and to assisting and supporting victims and witnesses through the prosecution process.
“The impact of the coronavirus pandemic upon the justice system, particularly the ability to progress jury trials, has been significant.
“We continue to work with justice partners on a system-wide response to the challenges of the pandemic to ensure the justice system fully recovers, and cases progress as efficiently as possible.
“COPFS understands that it has been a difficult time for those involved in this case and the unfortunate circumstances which have led to the end of these proceedings.”
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