Discrepanciesin sexual offences case forces delay in sentencing

Glaring discrepancies between the prosecution description of sexual offences at the centre of a case and the account given by the victim yesterday prevented the judge from proceeding to sentence the accused.

The accused, who was 19 at the time, and the victim, who was 16 years and 10 months, met via the internet site Tagged and ended up going out together for three months and having sex, Inspector Mary King told Judge Con O’Leary at Cork District Court on the basis of evidence in the garda file. The inspector went on to give further details of the offences.

The accused pleaded guilty two counts, that in May 2012 he engaged in a sexual act, namely the penetration of the mouth with the penis, with a child under 17, and secondly, in June 2012 he engaged in sexual intercourse with her. The girl was two months short of the legal age to have consensual sex.