IT seems unlikely that charges will be brought against two men suspected of having sex with a 14-year-old boy.

Gardaí submitted a file to the director of public prosecutions 12 months ago in connection with a number of alleged sexual assaults on the boy.

However, garda sources said serious difficulties remained in proving the men didn't know what age the boy was.

The now 15-year-old had logged on to the Gaydar website, where all users are obliged to be over 18, and made contact with at least 12 men through the site.

The alleged victim claimed to be 19 online and said he was interested in casual sex encounters with older men.

The DPP is concerned cases where the victim has given consent, despite it being statutory rape, will fail in court, senior gardaí said.

"The difficulty you have here," one officer said, "is that these men logged on to an adult website where this youngster masqueraded as a 19-year-old.

"They've then made contact ­ with the youth who time and time again has insisted that he is not underage. He doesn't look of age and any judge or jury will see that but the honest-mistake defence would be very strong."

A student garda and a civil servant questioned in connection with sexual assaults on the teenage boy will not be facing charges.

Neither of these men had met up with the boy at the centre of the charges but had exchanged texts with him.

At least eight other men also had contact with the boy involved but a number of them, having met up with him, refused to have sex because they realised he was a minor.

The cases of the two chief suspects – a truck driver and a language teacher – are still being examined by the DPP.

Gardaí believed they had prepared strong cases against both men who had intimate sexual relationships with the boy early last year.

The truck driver had worked with Scouting Ireland as an official and had travelled away on trips with youths on a number of occasions. Detectives carried out background checks on him but found no further evidence of criminality.

Another suspect – an official in the chief state solicitor's office – had come to the attention of gardaí before. However, he never met up with the boy and will not be charged.

The investigation began last March after the boy's mother saw lewd text messages on his mobile phone. She went to Coolock garda station where a formal complaint was made.