Unnamed sports coach’s trial reaches jury deliberations

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

A 78-year-old sports coach stood trial at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on charges of rape and indecent assault. He cannot be named for legal reasons. The proceedings were reported on 17 July 2024.

He had pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and 15 counts of indecent assault in a school. The charges originally related to dates between October 1989 and October 1990, when the complainant was aged between 13 and 14.

Following legal argument, the trial judge directed the jury to acquit him on four charges, leaving one rape count and 11 indecent assault charges for its consideration. The report said the date of the offences was also changed from October 1989 to June 1990.

The jury had begun deliberating and was expected to continue considering its verdicts on Thursday. The trial continued before Ms Justice Melanie Greally.