The Court of Appeal has dismissed B.K.’s appeal against a High Court refusal to prohibit two forthcoming Circuit Court trials involving allegations of historic sexual abuse. The decision leaves the prosecutions to proceed; it does not determine whether the allegations are true or decide the accused’s guilt.
The charges concern six complainants and are alleged to have occurred between 1978 and 1993. The two trial books each involve three complainants. B.K. argued that lengthy delays, unavailable witnesses, publicity and contact among complainants meant he could not receive a fair trial. He sought to stop both trials, or charges relating to individual complainants.
The appeal court said that many of the issues raised, including the significance of missing evidence and possible cross-contamination between complainants, could be examined at trial. The trial judge would be better placed to assess the evidence and decide whether B.K. received a fair trial after hearing it.
The judgment considered the different histories of the six complaints. Complainants A and B, brothers, had spoken to family in 2001 and 2002 and made formal complaints in 2016. B.K. accepted there may have been sexual activity with them, but said it was consensual and occurred when they were over the relevant ages he identified. He denied wrongdoing involving D. The judgment records allegations by the other complainants and B.K.’s arguments about delay and prejudice; it makes no findings on the underlying charges.
The court also considered the deaths or unavailability of people whom B.K. said could have assisted his defence, the effect of a Commission of Investigation, and extensive publicity. It said a possible application to transfer the trials to Dublin would be for the trial judge to decide if made. The appeal court did not decide that application.
The judgment distinguished this case from a 2021 Court of Appeal decision that prohibited a further prosecution in different circumstances. It acknowledged that there must be an end point to repeated trials, but concluded that the factors in this case did not justify stopping these prosecutions. If B.K. is convicted, sentence will be for the Circuit Court judge to determine. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.