Former priest loses sex assault appeal

A former priest and school principal has had his appeal against his conviction for the sexual abuse rejected.

Con Desmond, aged 79, with an address as Woodlands, Kilrush Rd, Ennis, Co Clare, had pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of indecently assaulting a pupil at St Stephen’s De La Salle National School in Waterford between 1978 and June 1980.

He was found guilty by a jury at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court and sentenced to two years on each count in February 2013 .