Court reserves decision in sexual assault case

The Court of Criminal Appeal has reserved its decision in an appeal brought by Eamonn Cooke against his conviction and 10-year jail sentence for sexually assaulting young girls around 30 years ago.

In 2007 at the Central Criminal Court Eamonn "Captain" Cooke (aged 70), the founder of an illegal Radio Dublin pirate station, with addresses at Heatherview Avenue, Tallaght, and Wheatfields Court, Clondalkin, was found guilty of 42 charges of sexual assault against young girls 30 years ago. The offences took place at Cooke's home.

Ms Justice Maureen Clark then sentenced Cooke to 10 years comprising one year from each of the 42 counts, with five years to run consecutively for each of the two victim and the remaining 32 terms to run concurrently. Cooke denied the charges against him.

Today at the three-judge CCA of Ms Justice Fidelma Macken presiding sitting with Mr Justice Michael Hanna, and Mr Justice John MacMenamin reserved their decision.

Ms Justice Macken said that the case raised several important and complex issues. However, due to the backlog of cases it could be three months before judgment could be delivered.

The court also rejected a motion brought on Cooke's behalf seeking to adduce new evidence, certain claims made in a book written by one of the complainants yet to be published, as a further ground of his appeal.

The Court said that it would give its reasons for rejecting the motion as part of its overall judgment.