Sentencing adjourned for drama teacher convicted of rape and anal rape

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

Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan adjourned sentencing of a drama teacher convicted of rape and anal rape until Friday, keeping him on continuing bail following a Central Criminal Court hearing on 21 February 2016.

The 56-year-old had been convicted on both counts. He had pleaded not guilty to each charge. The offences occurred at a school in Offaly between 1996 and 1998, when the victim was about seven. The report described the trial as having taken place the previous month. The proceedings were reported on 22 February 2016.

Defence counsel Colm Smyth SC offered no mitigation, explaining that his client continued to assert his innocence and did not accept the verdict. He said an appeal was planned and would raise alleged juror behaviour during the trial. The report described allegations that a juror smiled and winked at gardaí. Colm Smyth SC also said the juror attended the sentencing hearing and had been seen consulting gardaí throughout that morning.

Justin Dillon SC, counsel for the DPP, placed the offending towards the most serious end of the scale, citing the victim’s young age, the trust placed in the accused and the injuries inflicted. He explained that the man gave drama classes at the school but held no official teaching position there.