Unnamed man’s rape conviction appeal dismissed

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

An unnamed man’s appeal against his rape conviction was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 14 November 2022. Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy gave the ruling. The proceedings were reported on 14 November 2022.

He had denied all charges and was convicted of rape and sexual assault on two counts of a six-count indictment. The Central Criminal Court sentenced him to four years’ imprisonment for the sexual assault, took the rape charge into account and placed him on the sex offender register.

The appeal challenged the use of details from other counts, which had been withdrawn, and argued there was insufficient evidence to rebut the presumption of incapacity because of his age. The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction after finding the evidence could support an inference that he knew the conduct was gravely and seriously wrong.