Courts / Ireland / Report
Jury in trial of former sports coach accused of abusing girls over 40 years ago directed to return not guilty verdicts on 33 counts
Summary
The jury in the trial of a former sports coach accused of abusing four girls over 40 years ago has been directed to return not guilty verdicts on 33 counts of indecent assault. The 77-year-old accused man was originally charged with 79 counts but pleaded guilty to five of them. He had pleaded not guilty to 73 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape. The alleged offences occurred between 1971 and 1981 in various locations across the country. The judge, Mr Justice Mícheál O'Higgins, directed the jury to return not guilty verdicts on 33 counts following legal submissions and the absence of supporting evidence. The accused man cannot be named for legal reasons. The jury has been instructed to consider the remaining 41 counts after hearing closing speeches from both the prosecution and defence. The prosecution, led by James Dwyer SC, emphasized the difficulty of proving older allegations and the importance of proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Jury in trial of former sports coach accused of abusing girls over 40 years ago directed to return not guilty verdicts on 33 counts. Charges or matters: five of them; a total of 73 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape of four girls in the 1970s and 1980s; pertain to a further five counts of indecently assaulting this complainant on dates between May and September 1976; one count of indecently assaulting the fourth complainant on a date between 1980 and 1981; five counts of indecently assaulting the first complainant and that he had admitted "he committed the disgusting crime" of child abuse. Procedural stage: trial
When:
- September 1976 Other
- 1971 and 1981 Incident
- 1975 and 1977 Incident
- 1971 and 1975 Incident
- 1980 and 1981 Other
- 2026-07-01 Publication
Why: He noted the law doesn't say that older cases cannot be tried, but it does state that a defendant shouldn't be disadvantaged, because it can be harder to defend these cases. CNI source report
Case subjects
Accused
Charges: five of them; a total of 73 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape of four girls in the 1970s and 1980s; pertain to a further five counts of indecently assaulting this complainant on dates between May and September 1976; one count of indecently assaulting the fourth complainant on a date between 1980 and 1981; five counts of indecently assaulting the first complainant and that he had admitted "he committed the disgusting crime" of child abuse (Alleged Or Contested)
Plea: Not guilty
Places mentioned
- Central Criminal Court
Topics
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