The Court of Appeal has dismissed P.B.’s appeal against his conviction on 59 counts of indecent or sexual assault involving 11 complainants. The judgment, delivered on 20 April 2015, addressed the conviction appeal only; it did not determine his separate appeal against sentence.
P.B. was convicted on 11 July 2014 and sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment, with the final five years suspended. The alleged offences took place between 1 September 1964 and 26 June 1985. P.B. had been a primary teacher at a small national school in County Clare. The judgment said the complainants alleged that he assaulted them when they were pupils, mainly in the classroom.
The appeal raised 12 grounds, including claims that the prosecution had failed to disclose relevant material, that the indictment did not adequately specify the alleged conduct, that the trial should have been transferred to Dublin, and that the delay had made a fair trial impossible. P.B. also challenged the trial judge’s directions to the jury.
On disclosure, the Court of Appeal found no breach of fair procedures or the right to a fair trial arising from the refusal to give the defence contact details for 135 former pupils who had not agreed to release them. The court noted there had been no application for an adjournment to locate those people and no evidence that the defence had tried to contact former pupils whose names appeared in the school roll book. It also upheld the refusal to order two complainants’ counselling notes to be produced, noting that they had not consented and that the prosecution did not possess the notes.
The court also upheld the trial judge’s refusal to transfer the trial to Dublin. It found the judge had exercised his discretion properly, including by addressing potential jurors about whether they knew people involved or could approach the case fairly. On the indictment, the Court of Appeal concluded that the defence had not been hampered by the lack of further particulars, given that the defence was a denial of wrongdoing and the allegations had a degree of consistency.
The court rejected the delay ground, including arguments concerning unavailable witnesses, missing Garda notes and destroyed school desks. It found no fault with the jury directions on delay, the presumption of innocence, reasonable doubt or P.B.’s decision not to give evidence. The conviction appeal was dismissed.