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Juror in Munster abuse trial wrote to trial judge

Summary

During a ten‑week Munster child‑abuse trial, five family members were convicted of 78 counts, except one. The trial, held in Croke Park, involved a 15‑member jury, with 12 jurors deliberating for nearly 20 hours. After the trial, a juror wrote to Judge Paul McDermott about his views on the jury system; the judge received the letter but said it would not affect sentencing. The defendants, aged 27 to 56, were parents, aunt and uncles of the abused children, who were between one and nine years old at the time of the offences. They were found guilty of sexual abuse, neglect and mistreatment. All five were remanded in custody until a sentence hearing set for 10 January, with victim impact reports expected by December. The judge allowed defence teams to return later if they wished to raise concerns about the letter. The unnamed 35-year-old was acquitted.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Juror in Munster abuse trial wrote to trial judge. Charges or matters: all 31 counts against him; six counts of rape, six counts of sexual assault, three counts of permitting other people to engage in sexual activity with a child and three counts of sexually exploiting two of them; all 25 counts against her, including 10 counts of wilful neglect; 10 counts of sexual assault, three counts of permitting other people to engage in sexual activity with a child and two counts of sexually exploiting her oldest son; all three counts, including two counts of sexually assaulting the girl and one count of sexually assaulting the second oldest boy; all 10 counts against him; five counts of sexual assault, three counts of sexual exploitation and two counts of rape; eight of the nine charges against him; six counts of rape and two counts of sexual exploitation. Procedural stage: sentenc

When:

• August 2014 Other
• April 2016 Other
• January 10 Adjournment
• 2014 and 2016 Other
• 2021-10-04 Publication

Why: The three men and two women appeared in the Central Criminal Court today in order to set a date for their sentence hearing. CNI source report

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Read the original CNI report