Courts / Louth / Report
70-year-old man jailed for inviting two 12-year-olds to take part in sexual act loses appeal against conviction
Summary
A man from Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan has failed in his appeal against conviction for sexual exploitation of two children. Peter Clarke, aged 70, was convicted at Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court on two counts relating to an incident on September 9 2011 involving two 12-year-old girls. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges. A jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to five years imprisonment with the final three years suspended in March 2014. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal, with President Seán Ryan stating the trial was "satisfactory" and the conviction "safe". Mr Justice Ryan rejected multiple grounds of appeal, including submissions regarding the lawfulness of Clarke's arrest and detention, the admission of evidence, and jury instructions. The court found it would have been "wholly unstateable" for a jury to interpret Clarke's conduct and words as anything other than an invitation to engage in a sexual act. The judgment was delivered by Mr Justice Ryan, sitting with Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan and Mr Justice Michael Peart.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 70-year-old man jailed for inviting two 12-year-olds to take part in sexual act loses appeal against conviction. Charges or matters: two counts of sexual exploitation involving two girls aged 12 at a location in Dundalk on September 9 2011. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Found guilty
When:
- September 9 2011 Hearing Or Sentence
- March 24 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2015-07-20 Publication
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: two counts of sexual exploitation involving two girls aged 12 at a location in Dundalk on September 9 2011 (Proven)
Plea: Not guilty
Finding: Found guilty
Outcome: Found guilty; He was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to five years imprisonment with the final three suspended by Judge Rory McCabe on March 24 2014. Clarke's barrister, Roderick O'Hanlon SC, further submitted that the trial judge: erred in holding that his arrest and detention was lawful; erred in allowing the girls' school Principal to give evidence as to their demeanour when they returned to school; erred in his instructions to the jury; erred in allowing the prosecution to adduce evidence from interview memos made when he did not have access to his solicitor and that the trial judge erred in telling the jury that 'while it was wrong to convict an innocent man it was equally bad to acquit a guilty man'.
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