Five unnamed family members convicted of child sex offences

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

Five unnamed family members were convicted of rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation and wilful neglect at the Central Criminal Court, as reported on 6 August 2021.

The convictions covered 77 of 78 charges. One of the five, a 27-year-old uncle, was acquitted of one sexual-assault charge; two other women had earlier had their cases withdrawn by direction of Mr Justice Paul McDermott.

All five had pleaded not guilty and were remanded in custody. They were due back on 4 October to set a sentencing date.

The defence argued that the children's evidence was unreliable and that the alleged abuse was not credible given social-services scrutiny.