MAN FACING 149 CHARGES OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

A MAN in his 50s sat impassively as 149 charges alleging sexual assault offences against females were read into the record at Gorey District Court.

Judge Gerard Haughton heard formal evidence from prosecuting Garda Seamus Kileen of charging the accused in Enniscorthy on October 13.

It took more than 20 minutes to go through the full sequence, which took nine of the 20 pages of the court list.

In each instance, the garda gave the reference number on the charge sheet and then reported the response of the accused which was always the same: ‘The defendant replied “guilty.”’

The first of the charges taken under the Sex Offenders Act dated back to the year 2000 and the most recent to 2017.

Five different females were involved and one of the five was allegedly assaulted on 49 occasions.

The defendant was ordered to hand over his passport to gardaí within 48 hours as a condition of bail.

All charges were adjourned to January 13, allowing time for preparation of a book of evidence.