A number of people have been arrested by detectives investigating historical child sexual abuse in Fermanagh, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has confirmed. 
It comes as another alleged victim has this week claimed that she was sexually abused by an RUC officer when she was 14, an allegation she says “nobody” including church officials “wanted to know”. She claims the Orange Order member abused her at least once a month for two years.
The PSNI launched a major investigation earlier this year after more than 70 people approached this newspaper to make allegations that they were sexually abused as children over many decades by different men and woman from across the county, many of whom held positions of trust.
Almost 40 weeks since the first alleged victim broke his silence by claiming he had been abused by several businessmen as part of a suspected paedophile ring in Enniskillen, the PSNI has announced a significant development.
In a statement yesterday (Wednesday) Head of Public Protection Branch Detective Chief Superintendent Paula Hilman  said the investigation into historical child sexual abuse is “actively ongoing” but to protect the integrity of each of these individual investigations she said police “remain limited in the information we can provide at this time”.
“We can confirm that a number of individuals have been arrested and interviewed during the course of our inquiries. We are not in a position to elaborate on these or share further information about those individuals at present as these are very much live and ongoing investigations, however I want to give reassurance to both victims and the local community that we are actively working on the reports made to us in recent months,” said Ms. Hilman.
She acknowledged the huge number of people who have spoken out in recent months and report allegations of child sexual abuse.
“It is welcomed that victims have felt confident to come forward over recent months and speak to us about their experiences. Their wellbeing is first and foremost our priority and our working relationships with partner agencies, including both local and regional support services, have been essential in ensuring that victims receive the help and support that they need.
“We are very aware of recent media coverage and ongoing commentary and speculation in the Fermanagh area and we would continue to reach out to victims, as we have done in all our previous appeals, to encourage anyone with information that may not have been disclosed to police already, to please make that information available to us. 
“We treat every allegation of sexual abuse seriously and we remain absolutely dedicated to ensuring that our investigations are thorough, gathering all relevant information, and that victims are treated with the utmost sensitivity. 
“We would urge anyone with any information about historical sexual abuse to come forward and contact police and seek professional support through our specialist detectives or through one of the dedicated support services specially trained to support victims,” she said.