The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in Northern Ireland is set to prosecute one person in connection with historical sexual abuse allegations in County Fermanagh.

The news marks the first person to be prosecuted during a continuing major investigation by the PSNI over the past 18 months into a multitude of claims of historical sexual abuse against children.

The multitude of claims were first made in a series of articles and investigations in this newspaper by then Impartial Reporter journalist Rodney Edwards.

It is believed the PSNI will soon pass additional investigation files to the PPS in due course, and decisions will then be taken on whether to prosecute others.

However, a spokeswoman for the PPS, said that due to the ongoing police investigation, “It is not appropriate for us to comment further at this stage”.

In this instance, it is understood that, after reviewing all the available evidence in an investigation file submitted by police, the PPS has taken a decision to prosecute one individual after more than one allegation was made.

Both the individual and the alleged victims were notified about the development by the PPS last month by specialist detectives working on the case.

To date, more than a dozen people have been arrested in connection with allegations of historical sexual abuse in Fermanagh.

Last August, 11 of those arrests took place in counties Fermanagh, Antrim and Derry, and a property was also searched.

While the PSNI said the organisation “does not comment on individual cases”, a spokeswoman confirmed files “will continue to be submitted to the PPS for consideration”.

“Our inquiries into the allegations of historical sexual abuse in Co. Fermanagh are ongoing and Public Protection detectives are actively working on all of the reports made to us, and are focused on gathering all relevant evidence,” she said.

In the last 18 months, The Impartial Reporter published dozens of allegations from men and women who came forward to say they had been abused decades ago. The allegations also prompted protests on the streets and public rallies, and were the subject of BBC radio and television documentaries.