Man found not guilty on two of three counts of sexual assault of his partner's child

Waterford Court House

A man has been found not guilty on two counts of sexual assault at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court. The jury were unable to reach agreement on the first count of sexual assault. 

The man accused is the long-term partner of the complainant’s biological mother.

The gardaí were first made aware of these alleged sexual assaults in April 2023.

The case began with evidence from the prosecution. The state was represented by Niall Storan.

The jury watched a DVD recording of a garda interview that occurred in 2023 with the complainant, where she described the alleged assaults.

She said that three separate assaults happened in 2022, several months apart.

She said the first time the assault happened, she woke up and found the accused sitting in the room she was sleeping in. When she asked him what he was doing, he said he was looking for a charger for his phone.

The complainant said she suggested he try the kitchen. She said he got into bed with her, put his head on her chest, and touched her inappropriately.

The complainant claimed that after this happened, the man started crying and told her not to tell anyone. She was 13 at the time.

She said the assault “didn’t happen for long, but it felt like a long time. I didn’t know how to react.” 

According to the complainant, the second assault was of a similar nature but also involved the man putting his hand down her pants. She said this incident only stopped when she heard her sibling wake up in another room.

The complainant claimed that the third sexual assault was largely similar to the first. She said this time, he had given her alcohol, and she claimed he was drunk on all three occasions of the alleged assaults.

The court heard that the complainant told one of her guardians about the alleged assaults during an argument where she was “in trouble” for drinking alcohol.

The complainant’s parents immediately called the guards.

The man who has been accused of these assaults maintains that they never happened.

The complainant appeared via video link at Waterford Courthouse and was questioned by defence barrister, Aidan Doyle. When asked why she did not tell anyone about the alleged incidents she said she was concerned for her younger sister who lived in the house where the accused spent “a good amount of time”. 

She said, “This was a way to protect her by letting it happen to me but over time I realised telling someone was the only true way to protect her.” 

She said she knew if she told an adult, she would not be allowed back to that house. 

She explained, “I thought it was better if I stayed there so I’d know it wasn’t happening to her.” 

The complainant told the court that she had told some of her friends – who were all minors at the time - about the incidents but “didn’t want them getting involved”. 

The complainant’s primary guardian, her grandmother, told the court that after the alleged assaults, “it was like the light had been taken from her.” She continued that the complainant “didn’t want to go anywhere, she didn’t want to do anything.” 

One of the arguments made by the defence was that the complainant only told her guardians about the assaults after she had been caught underage drinking.

The complainant’s father figure said that he was notified by a family member that she was drinking in a public park. He picked her up and brought her home. According to him, there was a “heated row”, and the complainant begged him not to tell her mother. It was then that she disclosed the alleged assaults.

The man accused was arrested in November 2023. When the charges were put to him, he said, “That is absolutely impossible. I would never do anything like that.” 

He told gardaí that he believed it was the complainant’s grandmother who put her up to it. 

He said, “She’s trying to ruin my life. It wouldn’t be the first time she’s done something like this.” 

At the end of the trial, Judge O’Kelly told the Jury, “It’s a particularly short case,” and advised them to “act dispassionately”. 

The jury, which was made up of seven men and five women, came to a not guilty verdict on counts two and three but were unable to reach agreement on count one.

The man charged was remanded on bail, and the case will be back in the courts in early July.

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