New charges for men previously accused of unlawful carnal knowledge

Four men previously accused of unlawful carnal knowledge until the recent Supreme Court ruling on the unconstitutionality of legislation have appeared in court in relation to new charges of sexual assault.

Counsel for the men, who cannot be identified, applied for adjournments in the cases to next month, at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, to allow their clients have a further consultation with senior counsels.

One of the men failed to appear at court and Judge Katherine Delahunt allowed an adjournment of his case to next week when it was indicated that the Director of Public Prosecutions was not seeking a bench warrant.

Ms Marie Torrens BL, defending Mr 'C' who was the subject of the Supreme Court ruling, said her client now faced four counts of sexually assaulting a female under the age of 15.