Remaining six accused in Munster abuse trial: five convicted

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

The remaining six accused in a Munster child-abuse trial faced charges before the Central Criminal Court. Five were convicted on a range of charges, while the grandmother’s case was withdrawn by direction of Mr Justice Paul McDermott and she was found not guilty of three sexual-assault counts. The proceedings were reported on 6 August 2021.

The father had pleaded not guilty to 31 charges including rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation and wilful neglect. The mother had pleaded not guilty to 25 charges including sexual assault, sexual exploitation and wilful neglect. Their 49-year-old uncle pleaded not guilty to 10 charges, their 35-year-old aunt to three, and their 27-year-old uncle to nine charges including rape and sexual exploitation.

The 27-year-old uncle was acquitted on one sexual-assault charge. The defence argued that the children’s evidence could not be relied upon and that the mother, who had a mild learning disability, had been intimidated and humiliated during questioning. All five convicted accused were remanded in custody and were due back on 4 October to set a sentencing date.