The Supreme Court has restrained the Director of Public Prosecutions from continuing a prosecution against a man who was 14 when he allegedly committed sexual offences against two young girls.
The appellant, identified only as B.F., had been charged with oral and anal rape and sexual assault arising from alleged incidents in April and May 1995. The two complainants were aged seven and six.
Mr Justice Geoghegan said the necessary evidence had been obtained by May 1995, but prosecution was not initiated until about two years and nine months later. Much of that period involved efforts to arrange the appellant’s return from England.
The judgment records that the family had moved to England in September 1995. The Gardaí knew where the appellant was living, and his family remained in contact with Irish and English authorities. Extradition preparations nevertheless progressed slowly, with repeated work on warrants and documentation before the appellant was arrested in London in February 1998. He ultimately returned to Ireland in August 1998 and was sent forward for trial that November.
Geoghegan J held that criminal defendants have a constitutional right to trial with reasonable expedition, separate from their right to a fair trial.
The judge said the appellant’s age created an additional consideration. A prosecution of an adult for an offence allegedly committed as a child, particularly a sexual offence, was materially different from trying the person while still close to the age at which the alleged conduct occurred.
He found that the State therefore had a special duty of expedition and that the extradition delay was excessive and unexplained.
The court held that, in the circumstances, proof of specific prejudice to the defence was not essential. The appeal was allowed and an injunction was ordered preventing the DPP from proceeding further with the prosecution.