Man appeals conviction for abuse of cousin
This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.
A man convicted of 24 counts of indecent assault against his younger cousin asked the Court of Appeal to quash his conviction. He also appealed against his sentence. The proceedings were reported on 13 April 2021.
He had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the 24 counts, relating to offences at Castlefinn, Co Donegal, between 1 April 1984 and 1 January 1990. A jury found him guilty on 30 July 2019.
The indictment contained 49 counts involving two complainants. He was acquitted on charges relating to a young girl’s allegations. His lawyers argued that trying both sets of allegations before the same jury created a risk of prejudice.
Hugh Hartnett SC, for the appellant, said the prosecution had told the jury at the start of the trial that it would be improbable for two people to make similar false accusations. He said the prosecution later conceded it could not rely on similarities between the allegations as cross-corroboration. Derek Cooney BL, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the decision followed the evidence falling short of what had been expected.
The appeal also challenged the handling of an issue during the cross-examination of a defence witness and the strength of the judge’s warning about convicting without corroboration. The appeal court reserved judgment at the hearing.
On 6 November 2019, Judge Melanie Greally imposed four years’ imprisonment for 10 offences committed when the man was a minor and six years for 14 offences committed when he was an adult. The consecutive sentences totalled 10 years. She identified the victim’s youth and the breach of trust among the aggravating factors, and the man’s youth at the time and lack of previous convictions among the mitigating factors.
A Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 22 October 2021.
This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.