Kenneth McDonald’s rape appeal dismissed by Court of Appeal

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

Kenneth McDonald’s appeal against his rape and indecent assault convictions was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 11 July 2022. The proceedings were reported on 11 July 2022.

McDonald had pleaded not guilty to both offences. A jury convicted him after a trial at the Central Criminal Court, and Mr Justice Alex Owens sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment in October 2019.

His appeal argued that repeated judicial interruptions during cross-examination denied him a fair trial and that the jury should have received a corroboration warning. The appeal court rejected those arguments, finding the interventions did not make the trial unfair and that the trial judge had conscientiously exercised his discretion.

The offences involved a girl at locations in County Wexford between January 1987 and November 1994. The report also said McDonald gave evidence that he had not been upstairs in the girl’s house unless accompanied by her sister and that the girl had never babysat for his family.