Man who raped his daughter appeals conviction

A man from Buncrana in County Donegal has appealed his conviction for the rape and sexual assault of his daughter during her childhood. The Court of Appeal heard the case on 8 May 2025. The appellant was found guilty in June 2023 at the Central Criminal Court of one count of rape and twenty-five sample counts of sexual assault occurring between 2010 and 2014, when the injured party was aged nine to twelve years. The defence argues that a statement made by the injured party to her aunt should have been excluded from evidence, contending it was obtained through questioning rather than offered voluntarily. The Director of Public Prosecutions' counsel submitted that the disclosure emerged naturally from the child's distressed state and represented genuine unburdening. The trial judge had imposed a sentence of ten and a half years imprisonment. Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy reserved judgement on the appeal.