Rapist's conviction unsafe, court told

The trial of a Cork man jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of raping his former girlfriend's two teenage sisters was "unsafe and unsatisfactory" because information was not disclosed to his legal team until his appeal was being prepared, the Court of Criminal Appeal heard today.

Today the CCA heard that Trevor Casey, who is appealing both his conviction and sentence, that the prosecution did not disclose that one of the complainants in the case had made an allegation that she had been previously sexually abused by another individual some years earlier.

Last year Casey (aged 32), of Closes Road, Fairhill, was convicted by a jury on eight charges involving four counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault on dates in 2003 and 2004 at three Cork addresses.

Casey, who was not present in court for today's hearing, was in April 2008 sentenced to a total of 13 years in prison by Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy at the Central Criminal Court.

The victims and their family said they wanted Casey named in media reports of the case.

Both victims gave evidence that he raped them after they awoke to find him in their beds.

The jury reached its verdicts after over eight hours of deliberation. It failed to reach a decision on three of the counts and acquitted him on three others.

The case attracted national headlines when it emerged that Labour Party TD Kathleen Lynch sent a letter to Judge McCarthy, indicating that Casey came from a good family with integrity.

One of the victims criticised Ms Lynch, saying she felt hurt by the Labour TD's involvement in the case -- and adding that Ms Lynch should be ashamed of herself for supporting "a convicted rapist".

The TD subsequently apologised for her intervention.

Casey said in evidence during the trial that he never had any sexual relationship with either girl and described as "sick" an allegation that he abused one of them while his son slept in the same room.

Today, the three-judge CCA, of Ms Justice Susan Denham, sitting with Mr Justice Liam McKechnie and Mr Justice Daniel O'Keeffe said it was reserving judgment in relation to the appeal against conviction.

The CCA will deal with the appeal against sentence at a later date.