Waterford father convicted of raping son as mother awaits cruelty verdict

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

A Co Waterford father was convicted by a jury at the Central Criminal Court on nine charges of raping his son from the age of six. He was also convicted of cruelty and acquitted on nine charges of sexual assault.

The mother was acquitted on both sexual-abuse charges. The jury was due to resume deliberations on Monday on her remaining count of cruelty.

Both parents pleaded not guilty to all charges. The proceedings were reported on 20 May 2016. Mr Justice Robert Eagar was the trial judge.

The parents originally faced 82 charges, but 60 were dropped towards the end of the trial after legal issues arose. The father was remanded in custody for sentencing at a later date.

The parents claimed the boy had behavioural problems and had invented the allegations. Lawyers for the father said he believed social workers had brainwashed the boy into making allegations after he entered care in 2011. Defence barrister Colman Cody said social workers had failed to inform gardaí that the boy had retracted his allegations. The report said the boy later explained that he had retracted them because he did not want to go through a court case.