Man appeals High Court decision quashing direction to acquit him

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A man who cannot be identified for legal reasons appealed a High Court decision quashing a trial judge’s direction that he be acquitted of historic child sex abuse charges. The proceedings were reported on 22 February 2022.

He had pleaded not guilty to four counts of indecent assault. The offences were alleged to have taken place between April 1968 and December 1970. The complainant, a relative of the accused who was aged between seven and nine at the time of the alleged offences, first notified gardaí of the allegations in January 2015. The man was returned to face trial in November 2016.

His trial at Bray Circuit Criminal Court lasted one day after the judge refused the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) an adjournment. The court had been told at a pre-trial hearing in March 2019 that the complainant could not attend. With the chief witness unavailable, the judge directed the following day that the jury acquit the man of all charges.

The DPP sought judicial review, arguing that the trial judge had exceeded his jurisdiction and should not have empanelled a jury after being told the main prosecution witness could not attend. In a judgment issued the previous July, Mr Justice Mark Heslin granted the application.

The man appealed, arguing that it remained unknown when the witness would be available and that no legal authority permitted a court to leave an accused person in jeopardy indefinitely. His counsel, Conor Devally SC, said the High Court ruling was wrong in law. Sunniva McDonagh SC, for the DPP, said Mr Justice Heslin had dealt with the matter correctly.

Before reserving judgment, the presiding judge, Mr Justice John Edwards, noted that the right to an expeditious trial was a human right.