Crèche worker acquitted of five sexual assault charges

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A 29-year-old childcare worker was acquitted of five sexual assault charges at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 23 March 2020. The majority verdicts were returned on day 22 of the trial before Judge Elma Sheahan.

The jury acquitted him of three counts relating to one child, with seven charges concerning that child still outstanding. It also found him not guilty of two charges relating to a fourth complainant, whom he was alleged to have assaulted between August 2014 and February 2015.

The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of sexually assaulting four girls at the crèche. The alleged offences took place between August 2014 and December 2016, when the girls were aged between five and eight.

The jury foreman asked Judge Sheahan for more time to continue deliberating on the outstanding charges. The proceedings were reported on 23 March 2020.