A Woman and the Irish Daily Star Sunday

The Press Ombudsman has decided that an article published in the Irish Daily Star Sunday was in breach of Principle 5 (Privacy) of the Code of Practice for Newspapers and Magazines.

A woman complained about the publication of a copy of a document in the Irish Daily Star Sunday that showed the name of a man who had been charged and convicted of abusing a number of their children, despite the fact that the court case was held in camera and the media were asked not to identify the man so as to protect the identity of his victims.

The newspaper wrote to the complainant expressing its regret that she was upset by the article, and assured her that it was not its intention to do so. However, the publication of the man’s name breached the privacy of and caused deep distress to the woman, her family and the children concerned, and the complainant was, in these circumstances, entitled to an apology for the newspaper’s inadvertent publication of the name. The complaint is therefore upheld.
 

17 January 2011