Unnamed shop owner’s sexual-assault conviction set aside

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

The unnamed shop owner had his sexual-assault conviction set aside on appeal on 7 December 2017. The original charge concerned the alleged sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in his shop in May 2012.

He had pleaded not guilty at Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court. A jury found him guilty, and Judge Michael O’Shea imposed a wholly suspended three-year sentence on 22 October 2015.

The appeal court found that constitutional fairness required the defence to be permitted to use CCTV footage while cross-examining the complainant. The court was to hear submissions later on whether a retrial should be ordered.

The proceedings were reported on 7 December 2017.