Man guilty on one count of assaulting his young niece

BUT JURY FAILS TO REACH VERDICT ON OTHER CHARGES

A MAN was found guilty of the sexual assault of a niece by the majority verdict of a jury at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court last week.

The jury failed to reach a verdict on three other sexual assault charges arising from allegations by three of his nieces, while a not guilty verdict was returned on a fifth charge on the direction of the trial judge.

The man, who cannot be identified to protect the identify of the complainents, had pleaded not guilty to the five separate sexual assault charges relating to dates between December 1, 1991, and September 1, 2001.

Prosecuting Counsel, William Fennelly, told the trial that the defendant is the uncle of the three complainents who were young children at the time,

He said that the women said they were sexually assaulted on five separate occasions when they were vulnerable children and he was alone with them. One of the women said that while she was sleeping in the sitting room on a sleepover at his house she woke up during the night to find the defendant had his hand down the back of her pyjamas,t ouching her.

She also said that on another occasion in her own bedroom, while parents were out, the defendant stood beside her bed and started masturbating.

A second woman told the court that while staying over at the defendant’s house on a sleepover, the defendant put his hand underneath the covers and touched her.

A third complainant recalled an incident when she stayed over in the defendant’s house when the defendant put his hand down her underwear and touched her.

In evidence, the wife of the defendant rejected the sleepover claims. ‘We never had anyone on sleepovers in the house,’ she said.

Garda Ann Marie Doyle told the court that the defendant in his statement denied ever touching any of the complainants, describing their allegations as ‘nonsense’.

Judge Cormac Quinn told the jury that following legal argument a not guilty verdict could be given by direction of the trial judge on one of the charges.

Following three hours and nine minutes of deliberations, the jury of eight men and four women had not reached a verdict on any of the four other counts and Judge Cormac Quinn informed them they could now reach a majority verdict of 10-2 or 11-1.

After further deliberations, the jury returned a majority guilty verdict on one of the counts, relating to an incident between December 1, 1998, and September 1, 2001, but failed to agree on the remaining three.

Defence Counsel, Colman Coady, (instructed by solicitor Ed King) asked that the defendant be allowed continuing bail as he had turned up to court on all occasions. He also asked for a remand to April 11.

Prosecuting Counsel, Mr. Fennelly, said he was instructed to oppose bail.

Granting bail, Judge Quinn said he would adjourn the matter to April 11 for mention while they await a DPP direction on the three counts where the jury failed to agree.