Ex-teacher and retired priest in 80s accused of historic child abuse seeks to halt trial

A priest and former teacher has brought a High Court action aimed at stopping his trial on child sex abuse charges.

The man who is aged in his eighties is facing charges of gross indecency and indecent assault against a male pupil at the private fee-paying school where he worked in the mid-1970s. He claims he cannot get a fair trial on grounds of ill health.

The alleged abuse is said to have occurred after the complainant was called to the office of the accused on three separate occasions.

Today the man's lawyers argued before the High Court that he cannot get a fair trial because he suffers from age-related dementia and cognative impairment, which means he cannot properly defend himself at trial.

The man, who is due to be tried before the Circuit Criminal Court, was the subject of a complaint made to gardaí in late 2016. However, he was not required to attend at a Garda station in connection with the complaint until April 2018.

Represented in court by Hugh Hartnett SC the man has brought High Court judicial review proceedings against the DPP where he seeks orders and declarations including an order preventing his trial from proceeding.

Counsel said that as well as the man's ill health he was also claiming that there was a delay over more than 45 years in the time when the alleged offences are said to have occurred and the man's proposed trial date.

in all the circumstances it would be wholly unfair and a breach of the accused man's constitutional rights and rights under the European Convention on Human Rights if his trial was to proceed, counsel added.

Permission to bring the challenge was granted on an ex-parte basis by Mr Justice Charles Meenan at the High Court.

The judge, who put a stay on the man's trial proceeding pending further order of the court adjourned the case to a date in April.