Jury told to deliver unanimous verdict on all counts in Limerick rape trial

Complainant told court in her evidence she had not discussed the alleged abuse with any family members until 2021

The case, which began last Wednesday in Limerick Courthouse, has heard details of a complaint made by a woman to gardaí in 2021, alleging she was raped and sexually assaulted by a neighbour from the age of 13 to 16. File picture: Liam Burke 

The jury in the case of a man accused of indecent assault and rape 50 years ago has been directed to return a unanimous verdict on all counts.

The case, which began last Wednesday in Limerick Courthouse, has heard details of a complaint made by a woman to gardaí in 2021, alleging she was raped and sexually assaulted by a neighbour from the age of 13 to 16.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has attended court all week with her family, where she gave evidence last Thursday. The accused is 10 years her senior and lived across the road from her at the time of the allegations.

The 75-year-old accused is charged with 10 counts of indecent assault and one of rape. He  has been supported by some family members during the week-long hearing.

The complainant told the court in her evidence last Thursday she had not discussed the alleged abuse with any family members until 2021.

The woman, who is now in her 60s, has claimed the accused terrified her and sexually assaulted her in two addresses in Limerick — her own home and his home.

The accused is charged with 10 counts of indecent assault that are alleged to have taken place between 1972 and 1973.

The woman has also alleged she was vaginally raped once by the accused in the kitchen of her family home when she was 16, between 1975 and 1976.

She told the court she was “groped”, had her breasts touched inside and outside her clothing, that the accused “dry humped” her on a number of occasions, and that he had put his hands down her trousers and into her underwear rubbing her vagina with his finger.

In charging the jury of seven men and five women, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said: “Your verdict must be unanimous, and if you disagree with something, you you must reject it. You are the finders of fact, I am not.”

She explained when reaching the verdict, “you must apply the presumption of innocence. You have heard the phrase ‘innocent until proven guilty’, that presumption is at the core of our judicial system.

“You must look with a critical mind, it is not just a case of accepting what people said.

“You must weigh the evidence; the onus of proof is on the prosecution to prove it beyond reasonable doubt.

“You can’t come back here next week and say I’ve had another think about that and I have a doubt.”

Ms Justice Creedon also reminded the jury that while “you may well feel sympathy for anyone involved in the case, your role requires an unbiased sifting through the evidence”.

She spoke about the case being 50 years old and said the “passage of time makes it a lot more difficult”.

“These cases degenerate into one person’s word against another,” she said.

“We are dealing with old complaints, they are from a long time ago; they lack detail and imprecision.

“Witnesses seldom change their story, and you probe for the truth.”

She said the State “should not take benefit from old cases” and the jury must be “more careful when arriving at the decision”.

“The accused is grappling with big allegations,” said the judge, adding the “State path is not levelled because you bring an old case”.

“To deal with an allegation on a date unknown over 50 years ago, you cannot have an alibi so you must take that into account as an added difficulty to your task.

“Each count gets a separate trial — the courts have allowed a number of counts go before the same jury, but you must consider each count separately” she said.

The jury began deliberating shortly after 11am on Thursday. Deliberations continue.