Irish celebrity found not guilty of defilement of girl, 16

The judge had told jurors the court would accept a majority verdict on which at least 10 of them were agreed, then invited them to continue their deliberations. File photo

An Irish celebrity accused of engaging in sexual acts with a 16-year-old girl over a decade ago has been acquitted following a trial at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

The man (40), who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to three counts of engaging in sexual acts with a child under the age of 17 at locations in Dublin on dates between August and December 2010. He was aged 27 at the time.

After deliberating for over five-and-a-half hours, the jury returned majority verdicts of not guilty on all counts on Friday.

Earlier on Friday, the jury gave a note to Judge Pauline Codd after more than five hours of deliberations, indicating that they could not reach a unanimous decision. 

The judge told jurors the court would accept a majority verdict on which at least 10 of them were agreed, then invited them to continue their deliberations.