JOURNALIST Patricia Devlin last night said she was "overwhelmed and extremely grateful" for the support she has received amid claims of police inaction in investigating an online threat made against her newborn baby.
Speaking after she lodged a complaint with the Police Ombudsman, she said she hoped it would "refocus the PSNI’s minds in bringing the individual behind the threat to account".
The Sunday World reporter claims there has been a "year of inaction" by the PSNI in investigating the threat she received by direct message to her personal Facebook account in October 2019.
The sender threatened to rape her newborn son.
It was signed with the name of a neo-Nazi terror group, Combat 18, which in the past has had links to loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland.
She said when she received the threat, it also identified her grandmother and the location of where the sender believed she lived.
Speaking last night, Ms Devlin said: "My decision to file a complaint with the Police Ombudsman was not an easy one to make and so I am overwhelmed, and extremely grateful, with the support today from many friends, family, colleagues and many members of the public who have sent me their well wishes.
"Waiting almost 12 months on a suspect to be even questioned over this horrendous threat, when the PSNI has had ample evidence to make an arrest, is unacceptable.
"For the last year I have been subjected to ongoing harassment and abuse online simply for doing my job.
"To extend that abuse to my family and threaten a vulnerable, innocent and defenceless child is both outrageous and abhorrent.
"It should be treated with the utmost seriousness and I hope by filing my complaint today it can refocus the PSNI’s minds in bringing the individual behind the threat to account."
Her solicitor, Kevin Winters said "police have had more than ample evidence to arrest the individual identified right from the start".
"There has been a systemic failure by the PSNI to advance the investigation expeditiously and meaningfully," he said.
When asked for a response to the criticism from Ms Devlin, a police spokesperson said: "PSNI encourages anyone with a complaint regarding police actions to contact the Police Ombudsman".
