A PEMBROKESHIRE man has spoken of his ‘desperation, violation and humiliation’ after Surrey Police Force deliberately turned its back on his allegations of abuse which persisted throughout his childhood and adolescence.
Steven Delahunty suffered months of defeat at the hands of Surrey police officers as he attempted to commence an investigation into his historical child abuse claims.
‘Here is a man who had a serious complaint”, commented Judge Huw Rees during today’s trial at Swansea Crown Court.
“But the police did nothing about it. His face was set against the wall and he was acting in desperation.”
Mr Delahunty, 50, denied two charges of sending electronic messages, namely voicemails and tweets, to Surrey Police Force with the intention of causing anxiety or distress.
Throughout the trial Delahunty, of Westgate Hill, Pembroke, said his actions were the cry of a ‘desperate man who had reached breaking point’.
“My motivation was simply to ask for help,” he told the jury in his mitigation. “I was in a bad way. After ten and a half months, I lost it. I’m sorry.”
Delahunty sent the first batch of electronic messages to the personal assistant of the Surrey Crime Commissioner on the morning of Sunday, April 8, 2022. The first voicemail was made at 8.05am and nine further messages were sent every few minutes, ending at 8.31am.
The messages related to the way in which Surrey police had failed to respond to historic child abuse allegations which Delahunty claimed he had endured throughout his childhood and adolescence years.
Mr Delahunty stated that he was ‘contemplating killing and executing Surrey police officers’.
“I don’t want to take anybody’s life, but I’ve been abused by the state and by Surrey Police”, read one message.
Another read “If I tried to take the law into my own hands and execute or kill a police officer, maybe I’d get a reaction.”
The second charge related to a number of tweets which Delahunty sent to Surrey Police Force under his twitter name of Astro Paradiso, on August 7, 2022.
“If I had an automatic rifle, I’d be down Surrey police headquarters in Guildford’ read one post while another said, ‘When you discovered I lived in Pembrokeshire, you did not care. Nothing has been done. No letter, sweet FA.”
Delahunty chose to be legally unrepresented in court. In his mitigation he said his actions were the result of his increased desperation at being overlooked by the police in his efforts to challenge his allegations of childhood abuse.
In May, 2021, he was interviewed by a female officer concerning his allegations and was confident that this might finally lead to a police investigation into his allegations..
“I thought that at last I’ve got someone who will understand me,” said Delahunty, breaking down in tears in the dock.
“She listened to what I had to say for over an hour and the following day sent me an email saying she would be away on annual leave but would get back to tell me what was going on. But she never did.
“I felt violated and humiliated.
“ For ten and a half months I kept calling up and asking what was going on, but I felt I was being treated like Benny in Crossroads…like the village idiot.”
Mr Delahunty went on to say that on one occasion he was asked to provide Surrey officers with his current postal address.
“And when I told her, the officer said, ‘Pembrokeshire?’ We’re not going there. I’m not being funny, but have you ever thought of speaking to The Samaritans?’
“And that was when I made the decision to take control of the situation for my own mental health – I thought I was going to have a mental breakdown.”
Steven Delahunty went on to accuse the police of deliberately prolonging their period of non-communication.
“My motivation was simply to ask for help but they chose to wait for four months because they wanted me to get back on the phone in an increasingly agitated state. They wanted the meat. The police were waiting for that threat to kill.”
After listening to the mitigation, the jury reached a unanimous verdict after a short deliberation of just over 30 minutes. Steven Delahunty was found not guilty on both charges.
Following the verdict, Judge Huw Rees requested that Mr Delahunty’s allegations concerning his child abuse be investigated by Dyfed-Powys Police. He invited them to meet with Mr Delahunty to discuss his concerns.
