Courts / Ireland / Report
Child rapist who led 'double life' fails in appeal
Summary
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of a 78‑year‑old man convicted of raping and sexually abusing a child over a decade while he was in a relationship with the child's mother. The man was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment in 2021 for 72 counts, including rape, oral rape, anal rape and sexual assault, committed between 1991 and 2001. He argued that Gardaí failed to interview potential witnesses such as a grandmother and an uncle, who are now deceased, and that the investigation was incomplete. The appeal judge, Mr Justice John Edwards, found no evidence that the failure to interview those witnesses prejudiced the case and upheld the conviction. The State is appealing the sentence as unduly lenient, but the appeal against the conviction was rejected.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Child rapist who led 'double life' fails in appeal. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- June 2021 Incident
- May 17, 1991 Incident
- May 16, 2001 Incident
- January 31 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2023-01-16 Publication
Why: However, the male appealed the conviction, arguing that there were inadequacies in the case against him because gardaí failed to take statements from family members and that two of those – a grandmother and an uncle – were now deceased. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Outcome: He was jailed for seven years but cannot be named to protect the victim's anonymity. Mr Justice McDermott sentenced the man to 10 years' imprisonment, but suspended the final three years of the sentence on strict conditions, including that he not contact the victim in any way and have no unsupervised access to children.
Places mentioned
- Central Criminal Court
- Court of Appeal
Topics
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