Man (54) serving six years for sexually abusing girl (14) has appeal dismissed

A MAN who sought to undermine the credibility of a schoolgirl he abused through text messages she was exchanging with a 13-year-old boy has lost an appeal against his conviction.

The 54-year-old Tipperary man, whose details cannot be published to protect the victim’s identity, had denied two counts of sexual assault and two counts of defilement of a child on dates in 2009 and 2010. He was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment by Judge Thomas Teehan on June 27, 2014.

The issue at trial was the extent to which the defence would be free to explore the schoolgirl’s prior sexual history.

He lost an appeal against his conviction yesterday on the sole ground that his lawyers ought to have been allowed to introduce text messages between the then 14-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy.

Giving judgment in the three-judge court, President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham said the man lived in a rural area with his wife and family.

The victim moved to the area with her family when she was 11 and they lived across the road from each other.

When the victim was aged 13, she would walk his family’s dog. It was alleged the man began hugging her, progressing to inappropriate touching. It was not in dispute that the middle-aged man and the schoolgirl were texting each other on a daily basis.

Among the offences was an incident in March 2010 when the then 14-year-old girl was sexually assaulted with a purple sex toy. Later that year, he had sexual intercourse with her. A medical examination around this time noted an abnormal tear to the vagina which was supporting evidence of penetration.

The man was arrested in September 2010 and denied sexual intercourse but admitted the phone contact, saying this was instigated by her.

As part of the disclosure process, a “huge number” of text messages were disclosed. The prosecution was interested in the “obviously inappropriate sexualised text messages” from a middle-aged man to a young teenager. The defence was interested in text messages between the victim and a 13-year-old boy.

The man’s lawyer applied to introduce into evidence some messages and to cross-examine the victim which, they said, had the potential to undermine her credibility.

Having refused to admit the them, the trial judge permitted the issue to be explored in a limited way.

Mr Justice Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, dismissed the appeal.

When the victim was aged 13, she would walk his family’s dog