Courts / Ireland / Report

Court upholds man's conviction for rape of god daughter

Summary

The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal of an unnamed 62-year-old man from the west of Ireland, upholding his conviction for the rape of his god-daughter. The appellant, who pleaded not guilty, was originally convicted by a jury at the Central Criminal Court in June 2020 of two counts of indecently assaulting and two counts of raping the victim, who was also his cousin, at her family home on unknown dates between 1982 and 1984. Ms Justice Carmel Stewart sentenced him to nine years' imprisonment. In his appeal, the man argued that the jury's verdict was unsafe and the trial unfair, citing alleged inconsistencies in the complainant's evidence and claiming the trial judge erred by failing to discharge the jury or properly instruct them on the significant delay between the alleged offences and the complaint. Counsel for the appellant, Damien Colgan SC, submitted that no reason was given for the delay. However, a three-judge panel led by Court President Mr Justice George Birmingham, sitting with Mr Justice John Edwards and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, rejected these grounds. Mr Justice Birmingham described the trial judge's charge to the jury as "impeccable" and noted she was conscious of the difficulties associated with long delays in historic sex abuse cases. The court found no basis to overturn the conviction, leaving the original sentence intact.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Court upholds man's conviction for rape of god daughter. Charges or matters: two counts of indecently assaulting the victim – who was also his cousin – and two counts of raping her at her family home on unknown dates between 1982 and 1984. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• June 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
• 1982 and 1984 Other
• 2022-03-21 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal

Read the original CNI report