Courts / Wicklow / Report

Victims 'kept in silence' as child rapist claims new anonymity ruling may apply to him

Date
2020-10-29

Stage
Appeal

Primary locality
Wicklow

County
Wicklow

Summary

In a High Court hearing, lawyers for a 56‑year‑old convicted child rapist argued that the victims, who were under ten when the abuse began in 1993, could not be identified under the Children Act. The defendant pleaded guilty in 2015 to repeated rape and sexual assault of his wife's two sons over a decade. In 2016, Mr Justice Tony Hunt sentenced him to 21 years, suspending the final five. The victims, now adults, had previously waived their statutory anonymity to allow the step‑father's name to be public, but a stay was placed pending related cases. Those cases have finished, and the Director of Public Prosecutions seeks to lift the stay. The defence cited a Court of Appeal decision that the Children Act applies to deceased victims, suggesting it may also prevent identification of child victims. The court adjourned the case to 11 November, noting it would consider a short stay to allow appeal decisions to be known.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Victims 'kept in silence' as child rapist claims new anonymity ruling may apply to him. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

March 2016 Incident
November 11 Adjournment
2020-10-29 Publication

Why: Lawyers for a convicted child rapist have now argued that it may be that his victims cannot be identified because they were children at the time of the offending. CNI source report