Headmaster challenges retrial on indecent assault charge
A former school headmaster accused of indecently assaulting a pupil has been given permission to bring a High Court challenge to his retrial following the discharge of the jury in his case earlier this year.
The former headmaster, who is 78 years of age and a retired member of a teaching order, was originally charged with assaulting two male pupils, when they were 9 and 13 years of age, in the school where he was head. He denied the charges.
The case went to trial last April.
Following the completion of the prosecution case, the trial judge directed the case should only continue in relation to one of the two alleged victims.
His counsel Patrick Gageby said the DPP then applied to the trial judge to discharge the jury in the case of the second alleged victim and that a new trial be held in that case.
The DPP was successful despite opposition from the defence who wanted the trial to continue before the same jury, counsel said.
It was their case that by doing so, the accused had lost the benefits he had obtained during evidence and cross-examination of witnesses during the hearing of charges involving both victims.
This is because there were similarities between statements of fact made by both alleged victims and cross-corroboration, counsel said.
The material that came out during the evidence at trial was "redolent of contamination and possibly collusion of communication", counsel said.
Counsel also said the prosecution began in 2015 and it was not until this year that the trial took place. The date given for the retrial is next year.
Mr Justice Seamus Noonan granted leave to bring judicial review proceedings. He noted the judicial review was unlikely to affect the retrial date.
He granted a stay on the prosecution pending determination of the judicial review and said it could back before the court next October.
