Woman released without charge in UCD deception case

A woman who was being questioned by gardaí investigating an alleged deception against a third-level institution has been released without charge.

A file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The woman, who is in her 20s, was detained yesterday under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and was being detained at a south Dublin garda station.

Gardaí also carried out a search and seized a number of items including electronic devices as part of their investigation.

It is understood she was being questioned in relation to allegedly fraudulent documentation supplied to UCD.

The garda investigation began last year after UCD reported that a graphic photo of a woman was received by more than 170 academic staff and students on 22 April 2025.

A medical student at the college claimed she was raped three years ago and that an explicit image was taken in the aftermath and circulated without her knowledge or consent.

Following the alleged rape, the medical student did not succeed in passing all her second-year modules for medicine and University College Dublin required her to remediate six incomplete modules.

She challenged that decision and took a case to the High Court, claiming the university had failed to make reasonable allowances after the alleged assault and subsequent pregnancy and had forced her to choose between continuing her studies and accessing healthcare.

However, the High Court rejected her claim and found UCD had made significant efforts to support her and was entitled to require her to follow an academic plan before progressing through her medical degree.

Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger found the solutions offered by the college to help the woman complete the failed modules were "entirely lawful and proper".

The student appealed the High Court ruling to the Court of Appeal, which heard arguments from both sides yesterday and reserved judgment in the case.

Garda headquarters confirmed that a woman in her 20s was arrested yesterday afternoon for alleged deception against a third level institution contrary to the Criminal Justice Theft and Fraud Offences Act.