During a debate on "Prime Time" (RTÉ) on 12 October, Scallon read out a prepared statement towards the end of the debate, announcing that a "malicious" and "false" accusation had been made against her and her family in the United States and, while refusing to divulge any details, she said she would leave "no stone unturned" in her mission to track down the person or organisation responsible. The incident was described as "bizarre" by some media. It later transpired that the statement referred to her brother, John Brown, who had been accused in 2008, in the course of litigation in the US among family members, of having sexually abused his niece. He denied the allegation. Brown was arrested by London police in June 2012, following a complaint against him made in October 2011. In May 2013, he was charged with three counts of indecent assault on two girls aged under 16. John Brown was found not guilty and unanimously cleared on all charges on 25 July 2014. Marian Finnucan of RTÉ said he was falsely accused John Brown has since taken legal action against his accusers and a journalist and newspaper.