The Court of Appeal has dismissed T.R.'s appeal against convictions on 56 sexual offences involving three complainants, leaving in place an effective 12-year prison sentence with the final two years suspended.
T.R. was convicted after a Central Criminal Court trial held between 22 February and 7 March 2023. The jury found him guilty of 55 sexual assault offences and one offence of rape contrary to section 4 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990. The offences concerned three complainants, identified as AM, AW and TM, and were said to have occurred in the family home between 2000 and 2014.
The appeal focused primarily on the first count, concerning AM. T.R. argued that inconsistencies between AM's evidence, earlier statements and accounts given by other witnesses meant the guilty verdict was unsafe. He also argued that the trial judge had failed to draw sufficient attention to those inconsistencies and had not properly presented the defence case to the jury.
Delivering judgment on 24 March 2026, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said there had been ample evidence to allow count one to go before the jury. The court held that the discrepancies identified were not unusual or sufficient to make the verdict perverse, and that questions of credibility and reliability were matters for the jury.
The court also rejected criticism of the trial judge's charge. It noted that the evidence had been comprehensively reviewed and that the defence had made no requisition at trial seeking changes or additions to the charge.
The appeal was therefore dismissed. T.R.'s effective sentence remains 12 years' imprisonment with the final two years suspended, dating from 7 March 2023.