Man found guilty of sex assault on niece at party

A man who denied sexually assaulting his niece at a ‘This Is Your Life’ celebration at Pairc Uí Chaoimh was found guilty of that offence yesterday by a jury who deliberated for over five hours.

Christopher McCarthy, aged 50, was also found guilty on a second count of indecently assaulting the same niece on Christmas Day about four years earlier, when he was 20 and she was 10. They found him not guilty on three other counts.

In the dock at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday, McCarthy had begun to cry tears of relief when the jury verdicts of not guilty were returned on the first, second, and third counts. He reacted in shock, stopped crying, and shook his head as the final two verdicts went against him.