Courts / Waterford / Report

Man's conviction for sexually assaulting partner's daughter is upheld

Summary

In a Waterford case, Dean Hurley, aged 53, was convicted in 2021 of sexually assaulting his 12‑year‑old stepdaughter between 1 and 30 October 2013. The jury sentenced him to three years and six months, with the final six months suspended. Hurley appealed, arguing that a post‑conviction victim impact statement contradicted earlier testimony. The Court of Appeal, led by Mr Justice George Birmingham, rejected all four grounds of appeal. The judges found the new statement did not materially affect the core allegation and that the trial judge's decisions on evidence admissibility and indictment amendments were correct. Consequently, the conviction was upheld and the appeal dismissed. The case remains at the conviction stage, with no change to the imposed sentence.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Man's conviction for sexually assaulting partner's daughter is upheld. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Convicted

When:

• October 1, 2013 Incident
• October 30, 2013 Incident
• October 5, 2021 Incident
• 2023-05-15 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal

Related court reports

• Mentally ill man who put fellow psychiatric patient in chokehold to be immediately released into care of UK parents
• Former Christian Brothers accused of breach of duty to be named in national newspaper
• Murderer claims reference to Conor McGregor brought 'toxic masculinity' baggage
• Combined 15-year sentence for violent rape and abuse is upheld
• High Court to consider publishing names of 340 former Christian Brothers
• Disability charity boss wins record €323k for 'egregious' whistleblower penalisation

Read the original CNI report