53-year-old man sentenced for sexual assault

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A 53-year-old man was sentenced for sexual assault at a circuit criminal court on 17 May 2019, receiving three-and-a-half years with the final year suspended.

The conviction concerned the sexual assault of a teenage girl during a sleepover on 19 August 2015. The man later appealed, arguing that information about the jury raised concerns about its impartiality.

The Court of Appeal heard submissions about alleged connections involving jurors, the complainant’s family and companies linked to the case.

The State argued there was no reason to conclude that jurors had made the alleged connections or failed to follow the trial judge’s directions. The Court of Appeal reserved judgment.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.