Unnamed man has sexual assault conviction quashed

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

An unnamed man had his sexual assault conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal on 22 May 2023, with a retrial ordered and custody continued until 7 June with consent to bail.

He had pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, one sexual assault and one attempted rape arising from allegations at his Dublin home between 1 and 3 December 2017. He was convicted by a jury of one sexual assault count at the Central Criminal Court in April 2021 and later received six years, with the final six months suspended for keeping the peace and being of good behaviour; a four-year post-release supervision order was also imposed.

The appeal concerned phone material extracted after updated software became available. Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said searches indicated curiosity about sexual issues but did not point directly to sexual intercourse; the defence argued the material could affect the complainant's credibility and support its account that she made a false complaint after learning the ceremony would not protect her immigration position.

The proceedings were reported on 22 May 2023.