Man has sex assault conviction quashed
The Court of Criminal appeal has quashed a 61-year-old man's conviction for sexually assaulting his daughter during the mid 1980's when she was a teenager.
The Court also ordered that a re-trial take place.
In 2006 the man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was found guilty by a jury at Naas Circuit Criminal Court of four counts of indecently assaulting his daughter, who was in her early teens at the time, at the family home in Co Kildare between 1982 and 1984.
The man was sentenced to a total of six years in prison, which was imposed by Judge Patrick McCartan. The man had denied the charges.
Today the Court of Criminal Appeal consisting of Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan presiding sitting with Mr Justice John Edwards and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy set aside the conviction and ordered a re-trial.
Mr Justice Finnegan said in delivering the judgment that the court would give its reasons at a later date, and remanded the man on bail, pending the re-trial.
Moving the appeal Counsel for the man Paul Burns SC argued that Judge McCartan had erred by allowing the jury to continues its deliberations until 10-23pm on the third day of the trial after the court began sitting at 9-30am having begun deliberations at 5pm.
Even though the jury had asked to sit on Counsel argued that the Judge should have sent the jury to a hotel overnight.
Counsel said that the judge did not indicated to the jury that they should bring a bag or make arrangements in case they were required to stay at a hotel overnight.
A further ground of the appeal was that the judge allowed an amendment the inditement after the close of the prosecutions case. Counsel claimed that for those reasons the trial was unsatisfactory.
Opposing the appeal counsel for the DPP John O'Kelly SC said that judge had the discretion to allow the jury stay on when they asked to, and that the conviction should stand.
