No courts available for Offaly sex-assault trial
The jury sworn in earlier this week for the trial of a Tipperary man charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting an Offaly woman almost eight years ago has been discharged due to logistical problems.
Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court discharged the jury because of availability difficulties.
The jury was sworn in last Monday and it had been scheduled that the trial would take some five days. No other courts are available at present and Mr Justice Carney adjourned the case to the next list to fix trial dates at the end of this month.
The now 44-year-old accused has pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment of the then 14-year-old complainant in his car on or about November 06, 2000 and to aggravated sexual assault of her in his car. He also denies a third charge of sexually assaulting her on the same occasion.
