Court rejects abuser's claim that jury verdict was "perverse"

A man in his sixties, convicted of sexually assaulting and raping his grand-niece on multiple occasions between 1992 and 1994 at locations in counties Donegal and Dublin, has failed in his appeal against conviction at the Court of Appeal. The appellant, whose identity is protected to safeguard the victim's privacy, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in May 2017 following his trial at the Central Criminal Court. He sought to overturn the jury's guilty verdict on grounds that it was perverse and contrary to the weight of evidence. Mr Justice George Birmingham, sitting with two fellow judges, rejected the appeal, finding no circumstances warranted intervention with the jury's decision. The court noted that no application for a directed acquittal had been made during trial, indicating the defence accepted the matter warranted jury consideration. The judges were satisfied the verdict stood and found no fault with the trial judge's directions to the jury.