Retired teacher appeals refusal to halt indecent assault trial

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

A retired teacher appealed to the Court of Appeal on 7 December 2018 against the refusal to halt his indecent assault trial. The 76-year-old man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was seeking to prohibit the trial on grounds of delay.

He faces 16 charges of indecently assaulting eight male pupils at a south Dublin school between 1 September 1968 and 1 June 1969. A ninth pupil made similar allegations around the same time.

The alleged assaults on multiple complainants were said to have occurred in view of other pupils and anyone entering the classroom. The man denied the allegations and maintained that, if they had happened, they would have been within sight and hearing of the teacher and pupils in an adjoining room.

His lawyers argued that potential witnesses who might have helped his case had died. He listed 16 deceased people, including school staff, inspectors, caretakers and gardaí. His lawyers said they could have described the classroom layout or given evidence about his teaching.

In the High Court, Mr Justice Paul McDermott found that the deaths did not create a real risk of an unfair trial and that the case was not wholly exceptional enough to prohibit it. On appeal, Patrick Gageby SC argued that the judge had devalued the loss of witnesses his client considered valuable and irreplaceable.

Mr Justice John Edwards, sitting with Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, reserved judgment. The court heard that a trial date was fixed for April.