Courts / Ireland / Report

'True predator' who abused 14 girls fails in bid to have conviction overturned

Summary

In 2020 the Central Criminal Court convicted a 60‑year‑old man of 30 counts of sexual assault against 14 girls aged 11 to 17, after he had pleaded guilty in 2002 to ten of those offences and received a nine‑year sentence with two years suspended. The court found that he lured the children into his apartment with money, jewellery and cigarettes before assaulting them. Ms Justice Tara Burns sentenced him to seven years for the additional 20 convictions. The defendant's lawyers appealed, arguing that the announcement of the first Covid lockdown the day before deliberations began, his prior theft convictions in England, missing Facebook messages, delays in prosecution and misdirection of the jury had made the conviction unsafe. The Court of Appeal rejected all grounds, upheld the conviction and affirmed that the jury had not been pressured or misdirected. The judge described the man as a "true predator" who offered a false refuge before assaulting the children.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: 'True predator' who abused 14 girls fails in bid to have conviction overturned. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• May 1994 Hearing Or Sentence
• February 2001 Hearing Or Sentence
• March 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
• March 13, 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
• March 12, 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2022-02-08 Publication

Why: Today the three-judge Court of Appeal rejected several grounds submitted by lawyers for the 60-year-old male, who cannot be named in order to protect the anonymity of his victims. CNI source report

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal Theft Violent Crime

Read the original CNI report