Priest, 83, found not guilty of sex assault charges

A 83-year-old priest who was put on trial on charges of indecently assaulting a boy in a school sickbed in the 1970s was found not guilty on both charges yesterday.

The nine men and three women of the jury return to courtroom 2 at Cork Circuit Criminal Court after an hour of deliberation to tell Judge Gerard O’Brien they had reached a unanimous verdict of not guilty on both charges.

Two past pupils from the 1970s and 1980s spoke yesterday in favour of the priest, who was on trial on two charges of indecently assaulting a pupil in the sickbay of the school.