By Maeve Rowan
The High Court has found that articles published by the Irish Independent and Sunday World before the sentencing of a man convicted of repeatedly sexually abusing his daughters amounted to contempt of court.
C.D. pleaded guilty in the Central Criminal Court on April 28, 2003 to 12 counts from an indictment containing 153 counts. He was later sentenced on June 20 to ten concurrent life sentences for rape and concurrent five-year sentences for sexual assault.
Between plea and sentence, the Irish Independent published an article on April 29 and the Sunday World published one on May 4. The Director of Public Prosecutions later brought contempt proceedings against the publishers and journalists involved.
Ms Justice Dunne found that material published before sentencing included allegations that C.D. had fled Ireland to avoid prosecution, details of how he was returned to the jurisdiction and an alleged confrontation with police abroad. The Sunday World article also questioned his remorse and compared his case with another serious sexual-abuse prosecution.
The judge stressed that the issue was not simply whether the sentencing judge had actually been influenced. The legal question was whether publication created a real or serious risk of interference with the administration of justice while the criminal process was still under way.
She found the timing critical. None of the disputed material had yet been put in evidence before the sentencing judge, while matters such as remorse could directly arise during mitigation.
Dunne J concluded that the articles were highly prejudicial and amounted to contempt by interfering with the administration of justice. She said substantially similar reporting after sentence would not have raised the same issue.
One respondent, Isobel Hurley, was cleared at the outset after the court accepted that she had no involvement in the material complained of.
The judgment did not impose a penalty. Dunne J said she would hear further submissions from the parties on the appropriate sanction and directed that C.D.'s name remain unpublished to protect his victims.