Ex-soldier’s sexual assault appeal dismissed by Court of Appeal

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

The unnamed former soldier’s appeal against his sexual assault court-martial conviction was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 17 June 2016. He had been convicted over an incident at Aiken Barracks, Dundalk, Co Louth, on 30 October 2013.

The court held that an assault in common law does not require the direct application of force, and found that the military judge was correct to refuse an acquittal direction. The former soldier remained on bail pending an appeal against the severity of his sentence.