Dublin man acquitted of gross indecency charge

A Dublin man has been acquitted by direction of the trial judge of committing an act of “gross indecency” with his nephew more than 30 years ago.

The accused man, who can not be identified for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to gross indecency at his home on a date between June and September 1978.

His nephew was aged between 15 and 16 years old at the time.

Following a morning of legal argument on day two of the trial, Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley told the jury of three women and nine men that she was directing them to return a verdict of not guilty.

Ms Justice O’Malley told the jury this was due to a number of factors, including the age of the case and lack of corroboration, which made the allegations hard to defend.