In a trial for a 21‑year‑old accused of raping a 14‑year‑old girl in a derelict building during a game of truth or dare, the complainant denied any suggestion that she sought the accused out or encouraged further sexual activity. She stated she was shocked when the accused allegedly pulled down his trousers and exposed his penis, and she rejected claims that she had taken her own trousers down or that she had agreed to further acts. The complainant also denied any promise to keep the incident secret and denied being terrified of her father or mother discovering the assault. A friend testified that the girl had been with her on the day of the incident and later described the assault, while a Garda confirmed that no semen was found on swabs or clothing and that the medical examination occurred about 22 hours after the alleged event. The unnamed accused pleaded not guilty.
A 21‑year‑old man, who cannot be named, is on trial in the Central Criminal Court for anally raping and sexually assaulting a 14‑year‑old girl in a derelict building in Co. Kildare on 14 May 2016. He pleaded not guilty to one count each of sexual assault, anal rape and defilement of a child. The complainant, now 18, said she and a friend were roller‑skating when they called the accused's house. She had previously shown the boys a derelict site. During a game of truth or dare, the accused asked her uncomfortable questions, dared her to touch his penis, and later dared her to let him hug her. He allegedly forced her to hug from behind, pulled her clothes, and inserted his penis into her anus. She reported severe pain, bleeding, and shock, and later told her mother and went to a Garda station. The trial continues tomorrow before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and a jury.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Owen Shannon, 53, was found to have possessed 3,437 images and 56 videos of child sexual abuse, depicting children as young as three. The material, seized from two laptops, a computer and a hard drive, was largely Category 1, indicating severe distress. Shannon, a former security guard who had spent most of his life caring for his ill mother and later his father, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography on 23 June 2016. He admitted to gardaí that the material showed girls as young as five being abused by adult men. The court noted his solitary, isolated life and his remorse, and Judge Melanie Greally ordered a Probation Services report and adjourned the case to 2 March for finalisation.
In a 2020 appeal, an 80‑year‑old retired teacher, John Devlin, sought to overturn an 2017 conviction for sexually assaulting a student. His counsel argued that no evidence supported five of the eight counts and that reasonable doubt existed for the remaining three. The appeal court, hearing the case, noted that the jury had deliberated just over an hour and that the victim had provided detailed testimony for only three incidents. The court rejected the appeal, stating that the conviction was not perverse and that the jury's verdict was within its jurisdiction. The judge emphasized that the evidence was sufficient and that the trial had been fair, thereby upholding the original conviction. The teacher had already served his sentence.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, a 28‑year‑old man was found guilty of sexual assault on an 11‑year‑old girl who was staying at his sister's house. The victim was trying to retrieve a spare key when the accused grabbed her and forced her onto a couch, then touched her chest and groin. She screamed and shouted a boy's name, who ran downstairs and jumped on the man's back, allowing her to escape. The court noted the man's prior conviction for a 2007 sexual assault on a 15‑year‑old boy and his current sentence for a 2011 offence. Judge Patricia Ryan imposed a three‑year prison term, suspending the final 18 months on strict conditions, including probation supervision for 18 months after release. The case highlighted the seriousness of the offence, the victim's youth, and the man's remorse and isolation from family and community.
A jury at the Central Criminal Court found a 17‑year‑old boy not guilty of raping a 15‑year‑old girl in a public park. The boy claimed that after meeting the girl at a shopping centre, they kissed and she suggested they go to a nearby park where she proposed sex. He said he was physically unable to have penetrative sex but claimed the girl masturbated him. The girl, aged 16, testified that she was happy to kiss the boy but did not want to do anything else, and that he led her into bushes and forced her to have sex with him while she was too drunk to stop him. The trial lasted eight days and the jury deliberated for just under four hours before returning not‑guilty verdicts on both rape and sexual assault charges. The jury had to accept a majority verdict after the foreman noted they could not reach unanimity.
A jury has begun deliberations in the trial of a 17‑year‑old boy accused of raping a 15‑year‑old girl in a public park in south Dublin on 13 April 2019. The defendant pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and not guilty to one count of sexual assault. The trial is being held at the Central Criminal Court. On the seventh day of the trial, Justice Eileen Creedon instructed the jury to suspend deliberations for the evening and return on Thursday morning. In the prosecution's closing speech, Garnet Orange SC described the defendant as an "accomplished repeated liar," citing three interviews with Gardaí conducted ten days after the alleged rape. He urged jurors to treat the defendant's final interview with extreme caution.
In a 2020 appeal, a man convicted of sexually assaulting his 10‑year‑old goddaughter in 2016 had his conviction overturned. The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge had failed to mention the cross‑examination of the complainant when reading her testimony to the jury, creating an imbalanced charge. The judge had read the entire transcript of the girl's interview but did not remind the jury that the direct evidence was not the whole evidence. The appellate court quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial, remanding the man on bail. The original trial had sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment, with the final three years suspended, after a majority verdict in the Circuit Criminal Court. The case involved allegations that the man entered the girl's bedroom and assaulted her while she was asleep, an act that profoundly affected her emotional well-being.
In a rape trial at the Central Criminal Court, lawyers for a 17‑year‑old accused of raping a 15‑year‑old girl in a public park argue that the complainant's testimony cannot be relied upon. The defense counsel, Michael Bowman SC, contends that teenagers may lie to avoid trouble and that the defendant, a 16‑year‑old with no prior convictions, was frightened and reluctant to speak. He highlights inconsistencies in the girl's statements, including a claim that she was with a friend when her mother called, and a photograph sent to her mother that shows her with a friend. Bowman also points to CCTV footage suggesting the girl was in control after leaving the bushes, countering the prosecution's portrayal of her as incapacitated. The prosecution, led by Garnet Orange SC, maintains the defendant is a "repeated liar" based on his police interviews. The jury of nine women and three men will deliberate tomorrow. The unnamed 15-year-old pleaded not guilty.
In a Central Criminal Court hearing, a 17‑year‑old was accused of raping a 15‑year‑old girl in a south Dublin park. He pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and one count of sexual assault. During the trial, the jury heard three interviews with the defendant. In the first interview he claimed he was at home at 7 pm, had not kissed any girls that evening, and denied any sexual activity. In the second interview, after viewing CCTV, he admitted being with the complainant at a Tesco but insisted he had not raped her, describing the encounter as a kiss. In the third interview, after DNA evidence linked his semen to the complainant, he admitted that she had asked him for a blowjob and for sex, but he said he was physically unable to perform penetrative sex.
In a Central Criminal Court hearing on 13 April 2019, a 17‑year‑old boy was tried for raping a 15‑year‑old girl in a south Dublin park. The defendant pleaded not guilty to both the rape and a separate sexual assault charge. The girl's mother testified that she saw her daughter, who was dishevelled and barely able to walk, after the alleged incident. She described how she tried to get her daughter into a car, wrestled with her, and later found her in a state of distress. The mother also recounted a prior incident in 2018 where the girl claimed a boy had forced sexual activity, which the mother denied. The trial was proceeding before Ms Eileen Justice Creedon with a jury present.
In a case heard at the Central Criminal Court, a 17‑year‑old girl alleged that she was raped in a public park by a 17‑year‑old boy on 13 April 2019. She told Gardaí she was "really drunk" and "wasn't really aware of what was happening." The defendant pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and one count of sexual assault. The girl, now 17, was interviewed by a child specialist three days after the alleged assault. She recounted that she and a friend had been drinking vodka and gin, then went to a Tesco where a group of boys met them. One boy asked her to kiss him for more drinks, then led her to a park, kissed her, and allegedly forced sexual contact while she was intoxicated. She later attempted self‑harm and was rescued by her step‑father. The trial is proceeding before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and a jury.
During the trial of a 17‑year‑old boy accused of raping a teenage girl in a South Dublin park, the jury heard from a doctor who treated the girl in a sexual assault treatment unit. The girl, who cannot be named, pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and not guilty to one count of sexual assault. The doctor explained that the girl was accompanied by her mother and a Garda when she presented to the SATU on 13 April 2019. He took a history of the alleged attack, noting that the girl described the assailant as a stranger and that she was drunk and not thinking straight. She reported that a boy asked her to kiss him, then asked if she wanted to do "this", and she said no. She described the boy asking for oral sex, pulling down her leggings, and attempting anal sex.
A man in his early forties has been imprisoned for three and a half years following his conviction on sexual assault and assault charges at the Central Criminal Court in Castlebar. The jury found him guilty of two counts of sexual assault against his wife and one count of assault causing harm, relating to an incident in Galway city in October 2017. A rape charge could not proceed after the jury failed to reach agreement; the Director of Public Prosecutions subsequently discontinued this count with the victim's consent. The court heard the man forced his wife to a wooded area where he assaulted her, threatening violence and repeatedly striking her. The woman escaped and reported the incident to gardaí. Ms Justice Carmel Stewart imposed a four-and-a-half-year sentence with the final year suspended, backdated to his custody date in April 2019. The judge commended the victim for her courage in coming forward.
A 46‑year‑old Dublin man was sentenced to four years' imprisonment for a series of sexual offences against his younger sister that occurred between 1990 and 1994. He was aged 16 when he first abused his eight‑year‑old sister and continued to commit four further acts over the next three years. The victim, now 46, described the abuse as having profoundly damaged her sense of safety and innocence, and said she felt "crippled" even as an adult when her brother lived in the same house. She reported the incidents to her mother at 17, and later to Gardaí in 2018, after her children were born and she had experienced bereavement. The man pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court, admitted the acts, and was found to have no prior convictions.
Joseph McGrane, a fruit and veg salesman aged 60, was convicted of 11 indecent assault and seven sexual assault offences committed between 1985 and 1993. The victims, all of whom worked for him at different times, included three boys aged 13 to 18 and a 22‑year‑old woman. McGrane denied the charges but was found guilty by a jury in March 2019. The trial judge, Elma Sheahan, reduced the headline sentence from 18 to 13 years, suspended the final year, and considered that McGrane had not reoffended for 26 years. The Court of Appeal upheld the 12‑year sentence, noting that the trial judge had been misled about the maximum sentence for sexual assault under the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1990. McGrane's appeal against the severity of the sentence was dismissed. The case was heard by Justices Isobel Kennedy, George Birmingham and Patrick McCarthy. The final sentence remained 13 years with the last year suspended.
A 46‑year‑old man, previously acquitted of raping and sexually assaulting his niece, will face a retrial on the same charges after the Court of Appeal quashed his acquittal. The original trial, held in Cork, saw the judge direct a jury to acquit after hearing prosecution evidence and noting that the prosecution had failed to call two witnesses who had given statements to the gardai. The Court of Appeal, in a judgment delivered earlier this month, found that the trial judge had erred in halting the trial and directing the jury to acquit. The appeal judge highlighted that the defence's application for an acquittal was based on the prosecution's failure to call the complainant's grandmother and father, who had given statements to the gardai. He described the application as surprising and noted that the defence or the judge could have called those witnesses if they wished.
A man with convictions for stalking and harassment of former partners was found guilty at the Central Criminal Court in Castlebar, County Mayo, of sexually assaulting his wife in Galway city on October 13, 2017. The 42-year-old man was convicted of two counts of sexual assault and one count of assault causing harm. A jury was unable to reach a verdict on a rape charge, which the Director of Public Prosecutions subsequently dropped with the victim's support. The court heard the man forced his wife to accompany him to a wooded area following an incident at a church where she had sought shelter with other homeless women. Evidence included CCTV footage of the assault. The victim provided an impact statement describing ongoing trauma and psychological effects. The man, who has 24 previous convictions in Ireland and more serious convictions in the United Kingdom, has been in custody since April 2019. Ms Justice Carmel Stewart adjourned sentencing to December 1.
Ibrahim Gharib, 41, an Egyptian national, appealed his rape conviction after a trial in which he was found guilty of raping a 27‑year‑old foreign student at her home following a sexual assault on a bus. The appeal argued that a doctor's evidence about "foreign debris" on the victim's body was unreliable and that the debris had not been preserved for forensic analysis. Gharib claimed the intercourse was consensual and occurred while standing over a couch in the living room. The prosecution maintained that the victim's testimony, eyewitness accounts, and text messages supported the claim that Gharib followed her home, did not leave her alone, and raped her. The trial judge sentenced him to ten years' imprisonment, a verdict upheld by the jury. The appeal was heard by the Court of Appeal, but the judge's decision was not yet finalized.
A woman who was raped as a child in County Wicklow has won an 18‑month legal battle to have her rapist named. The man, convicted of four rapes and two indecent assaults between 1987 and 1989, was sentenced to seven years in prison in May 2019. A gagging order issued by Judge Michael White in that sentencing hearing prevented the publication of his name and any identifying details of the victim. The victim, who was unaware of her right to waive anonymity at the time, later informed Gardaí that she wished to have the rapist named. The DPP applied to lift the ban, but Judge White refused, citing an expired mandate. The Court of Appeal, led by President Justice George Birmingham, ruled the order superfluous and removed the restriction, allowing the rapist's name to be published in accordance with the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981 and the Children Act.
In November 2020, a 36‑year‑old serial sex attacker appealed his convictions, claiming unlawful detention after a knife‑wielding assault. The Court of Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice George Birmingham, found the evidence overwhelming but left the appeal undecided. The defendant had been convicted of nine offences across three attacks in Clondalkin between 2011 and 2016, including false imprisonment, sexual assault, and assault causing harm. He was sentenced to 18 years and six months' imprisonment, described by Judge Pauline Codd as "brutal and primal" and "premeditated," with aggravating factors such as a hunting knife, duct tape, and cable ties. Post‑release, he faces a nine‑year supervision period, curfew, residence notification, and travel log. The appeal centred on alleged procedural breaches during his arrest, specifically the lack of a custody record book and an unlawful extension of detention, which the Director of Public Prosecutions deemed "unfortunate" but not unlawful. Mr Justice Birmingham reserved judgement.
John Lewis, 52, of Lucan, Dublin, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for sexually abusing and "prostituting" a 16‑year‑old girl between February and October 2018. Lewis admitted to having sexual intercourse with the victim on 10 to 20 occasions, claiming he had become her "master" while she was his "sub". He also admitted to defilement of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, and possession of child pornography. Evidence included a handwritten "contract" binding the victim to obey Lewis, a list of 128 sexual acts, a black leather dog‑collar, and 77 images and five videos of child pornography. Lewis had previously been convicted of road traffic offences. The court noted that the victim had never engaged in such behaviour before meeting Lewis and that Lewis had cooperated with the investigation. Judge Martin Nolan imposed the sentence without any suspended portion, citing Lewis's immediate cooperation and the seriousness of the offences. John Lewis pleaded guilty.
A 46‑year‑old man was convicted of 15 counts of sexually assaulting his niece between 1991 and 1994 and four counts of indecent assault between 1988 and 1991. The jury could not agree on verdicts for 20 counts of assault against the niece's sister. He was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, with Judge Martin Nolan describing the abuse as "in the most grievous way" and estimating over 100 occasions of abuse. The appellant appealed on seven grounds, including alleged collusion between the sisters' statements and the trial judge's failure to warn the jury. The three‑judge Court of Appeal rejected all grounds, upholding the jury verdicts and the conviction. The appeal was dismissed, and the conviction remains in force.
A retired doctor, aged 86, lost an appeal against a conviction for abusing seven boys over a 21‑year period up to 1992. He had pleaded not guilty to 12 charges of indecent assault and one charge of sexual assault committed during medical examinations beginning in 1971. The Court of Appeal rejected 17 grounds of appeal, including claims that the trial was unfair because of the doctor's age and that the judge's use of the word "compelling" was improper. The judge had told the jury that if the complainants had made their statements independently, the number of complaints would be compelling. The court found no substance to these complaints. The doctor was sentenced to four years in prison, with 18 months on all other counts, all sentences running concurrently. The appeal was dismissed by Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Una Ní Raifeartaigh.
In November 2020 the Court of Appeal ruled that a 39‑year‑old English businessman who raped and sexually assaulted two young sisters would not be required to attend the "Better Lives" sex‑offender treatment programme to obtain a suspended portion of his sentence. The man, who denied the offences, had been convicted in 2019 on three counts of rape and eight counts of sexual assault against 10‑ and 12‑year‑old girls. He received a 14‑year jail term with two years suspended, conditional on programme participation. The Court found that the condition could not be imposed before the suspended period became effective, and therefore removed the programme requirement. The suspended two years will be released only if he remains peaceful for two years, stays under Probation Service supervision for the same period, complies with any programme attendance, and has no contact with the victims in perpetuity.
In November 2020 the Court of Appeal ruled that a trial judge had erred by halting a rape trial and directing a jury to acquit an uncle accused of raping and sexually assaulting his niece. The appeal court found the judge's decision was wrong and that the trial should have continued. The uncle had been charged under the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1990 and Section 2 of the Act for two counts of sexual assault, with alleged incidents occurring between 2001 and 2006. The niece alleged three separate assaults at her grandmother's house, describing the uncle's actions and her attempts to stop him. The prosecution had not called two witnesses – the niece's grandmother and father – who had given statements to gardai. The Court of Appeal, led by Mr Justice George Birmingham, said the defence's argument for acquittal was surprising and that the prosecution's failure to call those witnesses was not a valid reason to halt the trial.
In an appeal-stage hearing, Mr Justice Tony Hunt ruled that reporting restrictions banning the media from naming a convicted child rapist should be set aside in the public interest. The 56-year-old defendant, who pleaded guilty in 2015 at the Central Criminal Court to the repeated rape and sexual assault of his wife's two sons over a ten-year period starting in 1993, is contesting efforts by his now-adult victims to have him identified. His lawyers argued that Section 252 of the Children Act 2001 prohibits identification, citing a recent Court of Appeal judgment. However, Mr Justice Hunt determined that the Act allows courts to dispense with restrictions if appropriate for the child's interests. He found the remaining restrictions substantial and unreasonable, noting the victims' desire to speak out to aid recovery and encourage others. Consequently, he ordered the removal of all reporting restrictions. Nevertheless, he placed a 28-day stay on this order pending a potential application to the Court of Appeal by the defendant. The judge noted that if no appeal is filed, the orders will become operative upon the expiry of the stay. He also commented on the interpretation of the term 'child' in the Act, stating that while he believed it does not encompass deceased children or adults, his interpretation must yield to the higher court's ruling.
Rita Ryan, aged 69, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two charges of indecent assault against an 11‑year‑old girl she abused while working as a care assistant at an orphanage in the early 1970s. The abuse, which began with a question about "French kissing" and escalated to mutual masturbation and oral sex, continued for over a hundred occasions until the victim left Ireland. Ryan accepted the court's suggestion that her conduct was a "romantic" or "intimate" relationship and acknowledged it was sexual abuse. Judge Martin Nolan imposed a two‑year custodial term, fully suspended, and ordered Ryan to pay €15,000 to the victim as a token of remorse, with a further €15,000 within a year. The judge noted Ryan's admissions, lack of prior convictions, and community contributions as mitigating factors, while emphasising the prolonged nature of the abuse and the age disparity between the parties.
A man imprisoned for two counts of anal rape against his wife has withdrawn his appeal against his nine-year sentence following guidance from the Court of Appeal regarding recent Supreme Court precedent on marital rape. The 41-year-old, whose identity is protected to safeguard his wife's privacy, was convicted at the Central Criminal Court of the offences committed at their County Mayo home on 18 December 2015. He was acquitted on four additional rape charges relating to earlier occasions in 2015. Before the sentence appeal hearing commenced, Court of Appeal President Justice George Birmingham, sitting with Justices Patrick McCarthy and Isobel Kennedy, drew the appellant's attention to a 2018 Supreme Court judgment. That case concerned a sentence reduction for spousal rape which the Supreme Court subsequently reversed, finding that the lower court had erred by examining the offence in isolation rather than within the broader context of violent and abusive conduct. Following consultation with counsel, the appellant elected to withdraw his appeal, an application the court granted.
In 2017 a 53‑year‑old farm labourer was sentenced to 20 years for raping six children and molesting a seventh over a 17‑year period. The victims, aged between seven and ten when the abuse began, described weekly assaults in farm sheds, outhouses and fields. The man, who started offending at 15, pleaded guilty to 52 charges including oral and anal rape. In November 2020 the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal, rejecting arguments for a partially suspended sentence and citing the lack of remorse or evidence of rehabilitation. The court noted the severity of the offences, the absence of a "lapse from grace", and the man's adult status at the time of most abuses. The 20‑year sentence, with five years of post‑release supervision, was upheld.
A 77-year-old man was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to one count of sexually abusing his granddaughter on a date unknown between February 1, 2002, and December 31, 2003. The victim, who was aged between five and seven at the time, alleged the abuse occurred in the kitchen of the defendant's home. Two further charges were taken into consideration during sentencing. Judge Martin Nolan jailed the defendant for one year, noting that had the man been ten years younger and in better health, the sentence would have been longer. The judge acknowledged the defendant's age, health issues, and remorse, but emphasized that a prison sentence was necessary despite these factors. The court heard that the defendant's wife had told the child he was her uncle, while the mother believed he was not present. The defendant, a convicted child rapist with prior convictions for indecent assault and rape, is currently living in sheltered accommodation. His defense counsel highlighted his isolation and previous suicide attempts, while the prosecution noted his failure to comply with sex offender registration. The matter was finalized with the imposition of the one-year custodial sentence.
John McClean, aged 75, a former rugby coach and teacher at Terenure College, admitted to sexually abusing 23 boys over a 17‑year period from 1973 to 1990. He pleaded guilty to 27 charges of indecent assault in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The charges are organised into three separate books of evidence. McClean was due to stand trial but entered guilty pleas before the court. Judge Pauline Codd remanded him on continuing bail and scheduled a sentence hearing for March 9, 2021, where all evidence will be considered over two days. Prosecutor Paul Murray noted that some complainants were present in court and others observed via Zoom, and that victim impact statements may be read during the hearing. Defence counsel Sean Guerin requested a later sentence date, citing a forthcoming trial expected to finish in early March. A mention date of January 18 was set for any necessary documentation to be submitted before the sentence hearing.
A 25‑year‑old man was jailed for six years after raping his partner and assaulting her with a sweeping brush and a knife. He pleaded guilty to rape, assault causing harm and possession of an article at an address in Co Clare on 11 September 2018. The victim, whose identity is protected, had been in a relationship with the accused for about a year. In the days before the offence the man grew paranoid about alleged infidelity, searched her phone for evidence and, on the afternoon of the incident, found her at home with smoke and disarray. He struck her with a brush, threw a knife into a wall, forced her to the ground, demanded an apology, and raped her. She escaped and called Gardaí. The man had 40 prior convictions, including assault and public order offences.
In a High Court hearing, lawyers for a 56‑year‑old convicted child rapist argued that the victims, who were under ten when the abuse began in 1993, could not be identified under the Children Act. The defendant pleaded guilty in 2015 to repeated rape and sexual assault of his wife's two sons over a decade. In 2016, Mr Justice Tony Hunt sentenced him to 21 years, suspending the final five. The victims, now adults, had previously waived their statutory anonymity to allow the step‑father's name to be public, but a stay was placed pending related cases. Those cases have finished, and the Director of Public Prosecutions seeks to lift the stay. The defence cited a Court of Appeal decision that the Children Act applies to deceased victims, suggesting it may also prevent identification of child victims. The court adjourned the case to 11 November, noting it would consider a short stay to allow appeal decisions to be known.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court case, a 46‑year‑old man was convicted of 15 counts of sexually assaulting his niece between 1991 and 1994 and four counts of indecent assault between 1988 and 1991. The jury could not reach verdicts on 20 counts of assault against the niece's sister from 1992 to 1995. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced the defendant to seven years' imprisonment, describing the abuse as "in the most grievous way" and estimating over 100 occasions of abuse. The defendant appealed, arguing that the trial judge failed to warn the jury about the lack of corroborating evidence and the possibility of collusion between the two complainants, who had shared notebooks. The appeal was heard by the Court of Appeal, with the judges reserving judgment. The appeal does not alter the conviction or sentence.
A 39-year-old man, Alan Hanley, has appealed his rape conviction, arguing that the trial judge's inadvertent use of the word 'guilt' rather than 'innocence' should result in the conviction being quashed. Hanley, of no fixed abode, was convicted in the Central Criminal Court following three trials. The first jury failed to reach a verdict, the second convicted him, and the third returned a guilty verdict on one of three rape counts but failed to agree on the other two. Mr Justice Alex Owens sentenced him to 12 years in custody. During the appeal, Hanley's barrister, Seamus Clarke SC, submitted that the trial judge had erred in refusing to warn the jury that evidence of a complainant's distress amounted to weak corroboration, and that the judge had inadvertently used the word 'guilt' instead of 'innocence' when explaining the standard of proof and presumption of innocence. The judge had attempted to clarify the matter with the jury, but Mr Clarke argued that this only confused the jurors further. The appeal was heard by Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, Justice George Birmingham, and Justice Aileen Donnelly, who reserved judgment.
A 17‑year‑old, who was 15 when he committed the offence, was sentenced by the Central Criminal Court to 18 months' detention for defilement of a 15‑year‑old intoxicated girl in Dublin on 9 August 2018. He pleaded guilty, had no prior convictions, and was described by the judge as having "taken advantage" of the victim's confused and intoxicated state. The victim, who had been drinking with others, was found to have had sexual intercourse with the accused for about two minutes. She suffered physical pain, required Hepatitis B injections, missed 160 school days, lost weight, and expressed fear and loss of trust. The judge cited the accused's youth, guilty plea, remorse, and low re‑offending risk as mitigating factors, but rejected a deferred sentence, imposing the full 18‑month term without post‑release supervision.
In a High Court hearing on 20 October 2020, Mr Justice Tony Hunt considered an application by the legal representatives of a 56‑year‑old man who had pleaded guilty in 2015 to repeated rape and sexual assault of his wife's two sons, aged under ten at the time of the abuse, which occurred between 1993 and 2003. The victims, now adults, had previously requested that their statutory anonymity be waived so that the perpetrator could be named publicly. However, Mr Hunt had placed a stay on the waiving of anonymity because related cases were pending in Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court. In July, the prosecutor informed the judge that the Wicklow trials had concluded and the Director of Public Prosecutions was now seeking to lift the anonymity order. The defendant has changed legal counsel several times; at a recent hearing he expressed fear that publication of his identity would endanger him and stated he was in therapy.
John Murphy, aged 46, was sentenced to ten years in prison for the repeated rape and sexual abuse of his younger brother over a decade from 1988 to 1997. The abuse began when the victim was ten and continued while he slept. Murphy pleaded guilty to 12 counts, including three oral rapes, at the Central Criminal Court. The judge set a headline sentence of 13 years, reduced to ten after considering Murphy's admissions and guilty pleas, and suspended the last two years on conditions of psychological treatment, victim‑focused work, and probation supervision. The Court of Appeal dismissed Murphy's appeal, upholding the headline sentence and the decision to suspend the final two years, citing the prolonged period of abuse and the breach of trust within the sibling relationship.
A man convicted of rape and sexual assault has had his sentence reduced by eighteen months following a Court of Appeal finding that the trial judge may have imposed a longer sentence than warranted due to comments about remission. The Court of Appeal quashed the twelve-year sentence imposed on Richard Moloney and re-sentenced him to ten-and-a-half years imprisonment. The appeal court found that remarks by the sentencing judge at Dublin's Central Criminal Court in November 2019 suggested he was taking potential early release into account when determining the headline sentence, which departed from standard sentencing practice. Moloney was convicted in July 2019 of rape, oral rape, and sexual assault against his foster daughter in July 2016. He was acquitted of a further charge of anal rape. The court rejected Moloney's appeal against conviction, finding no error in the trial judge's jury instructions.
Patrick O'Driscoll, now aged 23, of Rosewood Drive, Charleville, Co Cork, has been re-sentenced by the Court of Appeal following an appeal against his seven-year prison sentence for the rape of a woman in Co Cork on May 10, 2016. O'Driscoll was 18 at the time of the offence. The appeal was heard by Mr Justice John Edwards, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, and Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly. The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal regarding O'Driscoll's conviction, stating that the trial judge did not err in dealing with conflicting accounts of the night of the incident or in directing that the case be taken away from the jury. The appeal also sought to have a portion of the sentence suspended, but this was rejected due to the serious nature of the case. The Court of Appeal found that there was no error in the headline sentence of ten years and that a mitigated sentence of seven years could be considered 'generous'. However, the Court of Appeal addressed the lack of post-release supervision, noting a strong need for such supervision in the circumstances of the case. The appeal was allowed, and the sentence imposed by the court was quashed. O'Driscoll was re-sentenced to seven years' imprisonment with a post-release supervision order for a period of five years.
Patrick Cawley, aged 49, was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for sexually abusing his niece, Winnie McDonagh, who was 23 at the time of sentencing. McDonagh was taken into Cawley's home when she was four after her mother's death and was abused from the age of 15. Cawley pleaded guilty to two counts of defilement of a child for acts that occurred between 23 November 2011 and 22 November 2014. The court heard that Cawley, while acting as her de facto parent, forced sexual acts on McDonagh on several occasions, including in a car, a hotel and while she was shopping. He threatened her with death if she disclosed the abuse. The judge noted his guilty plea, remorse and family background as mitigating factors, but emphasised the persistent nature of the abuse and the vulnerability of the victim. The sentence was imposed with no mention of a suspended portion or effective custody.
In 2020, a 53‑year‑old man was sentenced to ten years in prison for 56 counts of indecent assault on his toddler cousin between 1982 and 1986. The abuse began when the victim was about two and a half and continued until she was six or seven. The man, who was 15 when the first assault occurred, forced his penis into the child's mouth and placed her on a toilet seat to facilitate the attacks. The victim, who has no recollection of a time when she was not terrified, attempted suicide at 15 and has struggled with alcohol and employment in her twenties. The Court of Appeal rejected the appellant's appeal, holding that the sentence was proportionate to the gravity of the offences and the victim's age and prolonged nature of the abuse. The appeal was dismissed by Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy.
In 2020 the Court of Appeal heard an appeal against a five‑year sentence imposed on a 43‑year‑old man who sexually abused a boy and possessed vast amounts of child pornography. The man had been convicted in 2011‑2013 of two counts of sexual assault, sexual exploitation and production of child pornography, and had pleaded guilty to possession for distribution in 2006 and possession of child pornographic material in 2013. Gardaí seized over 55,000 images, 6,000 videos and 4,500 text files, including a 127‑page manual on how to exploit children. The appeal argued the sentence was unduly lenient, citing the maximum 14‑year term for the offences, the presence of 19,000 Category 1 images, and the fact that the defendant had spent three years in a Philippine jail after his passport was revoked.
In October 2020, a 39‑year‑old English businessman appealed the 14‑year prison sentence he received for raping and sexually assaulting two sisters aged 10 and 12 between December 2010 and March 2011. The trial, held at the Central Criminal Court, lasted 42 days and involved three counts of rape and eight counts of sexual assault. The defendant was sentenced to 14 years, with two years suspended on the condition of participating in the "Better Lives" treatment programme for sex offenders. He maintains his innocence and disputes the jury's verdict. In March 2020, his appeal against conviction on 11 charges was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, which rejected claims that the girls' interviews by specialist Gardaí were fundamentally flawed. The Court of Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice George Birmingham, reserved judgment on the appeal. The case remains at the appeal stage.
In October 2020, a 53‑year‑old man was sentenced to ten years in prison for 56 counts of indecent assault on his toddler cousin between 1982 and 1986. The offences involved forcing his penis into the child's mouth and placing her on a toilet seat. The victim, who was about two and a half when the abuse began, described enduring terror, a loss of trust, and an attempt to kill herself at age 15. She also expressed guilt for "making a fuss" during the trial. The man, who was 15 at the start of the abuse and under 18 for most of it, appealed the sentence, arguing that the headline term of 14 years was excessively high and that his age and good character had not been adequately considered. The Court of Appeal adjourned the case for judgment on 9 October 2020. The unnamed man was convicted.
Marius Purcil, a 41‑year‑old convicted rapist, lost an appeal against his sentence for a lunchtime sexual assault on a receptionist in Dublin. On 21 January 2017, Purcil entered a holistic therapy centre, asked for a massage, and when denied, offered money for sex. He became aggressive, punching the receptionist, head‑butting her, and using a Swiss army knife to threaten and choke her to unconsciousness twice. He cut her clothing and sexually assaulted her. The attack ended when another employee intervened. Purcil had eight prior convictions, including a rape of a boy in Romania. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to five years for the sexual assault and three years for assault causing harm, to run consecutively, with the final two years suspended. Purcil's barrister argued the judge erred in imposing consecutive sentences, but the Court of Appeal, presided by Justice George Birmingham, upheld the judge's decision and dismissed the appeal.
In 2015, a 56‑year‑old man pleaded guilty to 165 counts of rape and sexual assault of his wife's two sons, aged under ten, over a decade. Mr Justice Tony Hunt sentenced him to 21 years' imprisonment, suspending the final five years. The victims, who had waived statutory anonymity in 2015, sought to have the man named publicly, but the judge stayed the waiver because related Wicklow Circuit trials involving the same victims and other defendants were pending. The judge assured that anonymity would be lifted after those trials. In July, the DPP applied to lift the order; the man had dismissed his former counsel and was seeking new representation, claiming the delay was a tactic to avoid disclosure. Mr Justice Hunt warned that if the man resisted, the court could grant the prosecution's request on the next hearing, set for 20 October.
A judge's order banning the publication of a convicted child rapist's name was appealed by the DPP. The order, made by Mr Justice Michael White on 17 May 2019, followed the conviction of a 49‑year‑old Wicklow man for four rapes and two indecent assaults between 1987 and 1989. The man was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment in May 2019. The victim, now 42, was unaware she could waive her anonymity to allow the rapist's name to be published. The DPP argued the judge's order was unnecessary, invalid and contrary to the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981, which permits publication of a convicted rapist's name if the victim waives anonymity. The Court of Appeal reserved judgment on the appeal, while the man also appeals his conviction and sentence. The unnamed 49-year-old pleaded not guilty.
The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment on an appeal by Richard Moloney, a 42-year-old man from Roscrea, Co Tipperary, who seeks to have his convictions for rape and two other sexual offences declared unsound. Moloney was found guilty by a jury in July 2019 of raping his then 16-year-old foster daughter, Ciara Monaghan, at their home in 2016. He was acquitted of a fourth count of alleged anal rape. In November of the previous year, the Central Criminal Court sentenced Moloney to 12 years in jail. His legal team argued that the trial judge's jury directions created a risk that jurors felt obliged to choose between competing versions of evidence, ignoring the possibility of a third outcome. They also appealed the severity of the sentence, claiming the headline 14-year term was excessive given the single-incident nature of the offences. The Director of Public Prosecutions opposed the appeal, noting the jury's ability to distinguish evidence by acquitting one count while convicting on others. Counsel for the DPP also opposed any sentence reduction, highlighting the "explosively destroyed" trust in the foster relationship. Ms Monaghan, who waived her anonymity, stated in a victim impact statement that she had made multiple suicide attempts since the incident. The appeal was heard by Mr Justice George Birmingham, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, and Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh, who reserved their judgment.