Courts / Cork / Report
Court upholds travelling salesman's rape conviction
Summary
In a 2021 decision, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of a 56‑year‑old travelling salesman who had been convicted of raping a 24‑year‑old female assistant at a fair in County Cork in 2015. The appeal was based on three grounds, including the alleged inadmissibility of text messages exchanged between the salesman, the victim and another female employee. The Court found the messages had evidential value in showing the salesman's intent to have intercourse with the employee and that the appeal had no basis. The judge who had sentenced the salesman to five years' imprisonment in 2018, Mr Justice Paul McDermott, had ruled the conviction valid. The Court also rejected claims that the trial judge had given an unbalanced charge to the jury, describing the charge as "impeccable, balanced and thoughtful.".
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Court upholds travelling salesman's rape conviction. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Found guilty
When:
- October 2018 Incident
- August 2, 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2021-07-19 Publication
Case subjects
Appellant
Finding: Found guilty
Outcome: Found guilty; The appellant, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to five years in prison in October 2018 by Mr Justice Paul McDermott after a jury at the Central Criminal Court found him guilty by a majority verdict of raping a 24-year-old mother of one in a camper van at a location in Co Cork on August 2, 2015.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- Central Criminal Court
Topics
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