Court refuses to consider 'implied consent' in ex-RTÉ journalist's sex assault appeal

The trial heard that it is an offence to commit a sexual act on a person without consent and that a sleeping person cannot give consent

Lorcan Staines also appealed against the severity of Mícheál Ó Leidhin's (pictured) 18-month sentence with the final three months suspended. File picture: Collins Courts

The Court of Appeal has refused to consider an argument of "implied consent" made by lawyers representing an ex-RTÉ journalist who sexually assaulted a woman while she slept.

Lorcan Staines SC had argued before the three-judge court that the jury at Mícheál Ó Leidhin's trial should have been told to consider "implied consent" in circumstances where the woman had engaged in consensual sexual activity with O'Leidhin before they both fell asleep.