Highly relevant CCTV footage, of two physical assaults on a senior official in the luxury Quinta do Lago resort in the Algarve, was believed to have been destroyed, thus weakening an upcoming court trial.
John O'Gorman, the former head of Vigiquinta, the security and surveillance arm of Quinta do Lago, claims he was assaulted twice on the same day, in 2022.
Vigiquinta was originally set up in the wake of the Madeleine McCann disappearance and the perceived need for tighter security.
O'Gorman was physically assaulted twice on the same day at Quinta do Lago by David Combrinck, hired by the Quinta’s CEO, Sean Moriarty.
Following the assaults, Moriarty and a legal counsel reviewed the CCTV footage, after O'Gorman followed company procedures to have copies of the videos made and stored.
Under pressure, O'Gorman left Quinta do Lago shortly after the assaults and proceeded to file a criminal complaint against Combrinck.
The GNR Data Protection Agency (Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados), the prosecutor in Loule, as well as O'Gorman himself, have filed multiple requests with Quinta do Lago for copies of the video footage, which is said to have been also reviewed by Quinta’s Group Chairman Denis O'Brien.
Recent communications with the prosecutor's office in Loule confirmed that Quinta do Lago's security arm, Vigiquinta, had destroyed all CCTV footage of these assaults, a direct breach of CCTV protocol in the case where criminality had occurred.
Quinta do Lago CEO Sean Moriarty is also a director of Vigiquinta. David Combrinck was removed as an executive from Quinta do Lago in late 2023.
O'Gorman is now considering his legal options.
Written by Len Port
