NI Parents Of Young Adults With Disabilities Want Abuse Brothers Removed From Hospital
A group of parents of young adults with disabilities want two paedophiles to be removed from the psychiatric ward where they are being treated in Londonderry.
James and Owen-Roe McDermott from Donagh in Fermanagh voluntarily admitted themselves last week.
The pair abused children in their village for 30 years.
The parents, who met in Derry on Monday night, say they are considering a sit-in at the hospital if the brothers are not moved away.
One parent, who did not want to give her name, said her 21-year-old son had the mental age of a five-year-old.
“He has Thomas the Tank Engine posters on his wall. All he talks about is a washing machine and a tumble dryer.
“He has the mind of a child and that means he should not be there.”
One man said his daughter was being treated just a few feet away from the brothers.
The brothers were allowed to return home to the village in June after they were declared mentally unfit to stand trial.
Survivors of the abuse welcomed their move to a psychiatric unit but said it would not solve the problem in the long-term.
Between them, four McDermott brothers, from Moorlough Road in Donagh, faced 60 charges of abuse spanning five decades.
John McDermott was jailed for nine years in June for the abuse, which was described as frequent, regular and persistent.
Peter Paul McDermott took his own life during his trial on abuse charges involving two young boys.
The other two brothers, James and Owen-Roe, were given lifetime orders banning them from being with children, and a two-year treatment and supervision order placing them in the care of social services.
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