Father and three sons convicted of sexual offences against child relatives
This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.
A father and his three sons were convicted of sexual offences against four family members at the Central Criminal Court. A jury returned its verdicts on 25 May 2023 after a trial before Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring. The jury found the five defendants guilty on 117 of the 126 counts they faced.
The 66-year-old father was found guilty of 24 charges: two counts of anal rape of his granddaughter and 22 counts against his nephew, comprising 12 of anal rape and ten of oral rape. He had pleaded not guilty to 25 charges. The trial judge withdrew one charge of assaulting his nephew.
His 41-year-old son was convicted of 19 counts of raping his sister, four of sexually assaulting her and three of orally raping her. He was also convicted of two counts of anally raping his niece and one of raping her. He was acquitted of two further counts of raping his sister.
The 38-year-old son was convicted of 20 counts of raping his sister, four of sexually assaulting her and six of oral rape. He was also convicted of two counts of anally raping his niece and two of anally raping his male cousin. He was acquitted of two further counts of raping his sister.
The 40-year-old son was convicted of 20 counts of rape, five of sexual assault and three of oral rape, and acquitted of three further charges of raping his sister. The men's 63-year-old mother was convicted of assisting her 38-year-old son in relation to the alleged anal rape of her granddaughter and of assaulting the child. A charge of assaulting her nephew was withdrawn. She had pleaded not guilty to the three charges.
The judge remanded the father and the 41-year-old son in custody for sentencing and continued bail for the other three defendants. She directed the two younger sons to sign on at a garda station four days a week and ordered the three on bail to have no direct or indirect contact with the complainants. The case was adjourned to 17 July 2023 for mention, when a sentencing date was to be confirmed.