Courts / Ireland / Report

Abuser who 'seemed to delight in getting away with it under people's noses' fails in bid to overturn conviction

Summary

The 40‑year‑old defendant, whose name is withheld to protect complainants, was convicted in December 2023 on nine counts of sexual assault under the Criminal Law (Rape) Amendment Act 1990. The offences, alleged to have occurred between March 1996 and July 2002, involved three women who were aged six, seven and 17 at the time. The defendant, aged 11 to 17 during the alleged acts, was jailed for four years by Mr Justice David Keane in April 2024. He appealed on two grounds: that the trial judge should have severed the charges relating to the third complainant from those involving the first two, and that a doli incapax defence should have been granted. The Court of Appeal dismissed both grounds, ruling that the judge's decisions were not erroneous and that sufficient evidence existed to rebut the doli incapax presumption. The appeal was dismissed by Mr Justice John Edwards. The case remains at the conviction stage.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Abuser who 'seemed to delight in getting away with it under people's noses' fails in bid to overturn conviction. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Convicted

When:

• December 2023 Incident
• March 1996 Incident
• July 2002 Incident
• 1996 and 2000 Incident
• 1996 and 2002 Incident
• 2025-12-19 Publication

Why: She said that it is not necessary that the prosecution establish the existence of something akin to a threat, an admission or a protestation in order to establish that an accused child knew his conduct was seriously or gravely wrong. Prosecution account reported by CNI

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal Violent Crime

Read the original CNI report