Semen on child’s top matched accused, court hears

Semen from a 57-year-old man, who denies sexually assaulting his 10-year-old niece, was found on the girl’s top on forensic examination, a judge and jury were told yesterday.

At Cork Circuit Criminal Court, the man denies sexually assaulting the girl on occasions up to the age of 10 in September 2014 at his home in Kerry.

Following legal submissions in the absence of the jury, the judge told the jurors he was directing them to return a verdict of not guilty by direction of the trial judge on two of the charges. Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin told them it would be wrong for them to speculate on why they were being so directed.