Childcare worker jury fails to reach verdict on 18 sexual assault charges

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

A jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court failed to reach verdicts on 18 sexual assault charges against a childcare worker on 24 March 2020. The proceedings were reported on 24 March 2020.

The man had pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of sexually assaulting four girls at a Leinster crèche between August 2014 and December 2016, when they were aged between five and eight.

On 23 March 2020, he was acquitted of three charges relating to the first complainant and both charges relating to the fourth. After the jury was unable to agree on the remaining charges, Judge Elma Sheahan continued his bail and adjourned the matter to 16 June 2020. He cannot be named to protect the children’s identities.

Sean Guerin SC, defending, pointed to inconsistencies, including that the second complainant admitted under cross-examination that she might have been saying things about the man that were not true. He said the third child may have been handled “clumsily” when the man was getting her off his knee and that she agreed under cross-examination that it was not inappropriate.