The Court of Appeal has dismissed G.F.’s appeal against five sexual-offence convictions involving three female cousins, rejecting an attempt to challenge the verdicts using an anonymous letter said to have come from a juror.
G.F. was convicted unanimously on 29 February 2024 of raping A.B. and indecently assaulting her on two other occasions during a period between September 1978 and August 1981. He was also convicted of sexually assaulting her sisters B.B. and C.B. during a scout camp outing in 1991. He was acquitted of a separate allegation involving B.B.
An anonymous handwritten letter arrived at G.F.’s solicitor’s office in April 2024, after conviction but before sentence was imposed. Its author claimed to be a juror and alleged that some jury members had prior knowledge of the family, had reached views early and had pressured others during deliberations.
In its judgment of 7 May 2026, the Court of Appeal said the letter might not even be genuine. Even if written by a juror, the allegations were vague and could not justify questioning jurors about what happened in the jury room.
Mr Justice Alexander Owens said jury discussions and deliberations are confidential and privileged. Gardaí could not investigate whether jurors followed their oaths by interviewing them about those discussions, and post-trial material from jurors generally cannot be used to impeach a verdict.
The court also rejected G.F.’s other grounds. It found no basis for discharging the jury after B.B. used the word “rape” while giving evidence on a charge of sexual assault, noting that G.F. was ultimately acquitted on that count and the judge had properly directed the jury on the actual charge.
The court further held that there was evidence supporting each conviction and that the prosecution’s closing address, which asked the jury to decide whose account was truthful, was permissible.
The conviction appeal was therefore dismissed. The judgment does not state the sentence imposed on G.F.