Man bids to overturn conviction for rape of girl (7)

Fionnuala Walsh

A man who raped and sexually assaulted a seven-year-old girl who lived in his shared rented house has launched a bid to overturn his conviction on the grounds that the trial judge declined to warn the jury about the dangers of convicting on uncorroborated evidence.

The trial heard that the now 55-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, offered the little girl treats such as Kinder Eggs and proceeded to sexually assault her, and on one occasion he bent her over the bed and raped her.

Following a Central Criminal Court trial in May 2023, a jury convicted him on one count of rape and 12 counts of sexual assault between September 21st, 2012 and September 6th, 2013.

The complainant would have been around seven or eight years old at the time of offending.

The man had pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was convicted on May 9th, 2023 and was sentenced to 10 years and six months for the count of rape and a period of seven years and six months on the 12 counts of sexual assault, to run concurrently.

At the Court of Appeal on Thursday, Maurice Coffey SC, defence counsel for the man, brought a single ground of appeal before the three-judge court.

He argued that the trial judge erred in law by declining to give a corroboration warning to the jury and that the judge had predetermined this decision prior to hearing the application by the defence.

Such a warning can be given by a judge to a jury to highlight the dangers of convicting a defendant on the basis of uncorroborated evidence.

The original trial heard that the complainant's parents had separated and she would stay with her father from Friday to Sunday. The appellant was known to the complainant’s father and arranged to move into the shared rental property with him, along with the appellant’s ex-wife and her son.

In a specialist interview with gardai on December 5th, 2020, when the complainant was 15-years-old, she said that the offending started when she was around seven years old. She stated that the appellant would “whenever he got the chance” stroke the back of her head and touch her.

She said this progressed to him offering her treats like Kinder Eggs saying words to the effect of “if I give you this, would you let me do that”.

She said that she always said no but he did it anyway. She said that she had no clue what was going on as she was only six or seven years old.

The complainant described that the appellant would “feel me, lick me, finger me, everything, on my neck, face, hands, boobs, fanny, bum, everywhere - and this was more than one time”.

She alleged that the incidents would occur when she was left alone in the house with him or when people were downstairs.

She said that he would touch her in a sexual way and on one occasion he licked her genitals.

The complainant also alleged occasions where the appellant stripped her naked and got her to lie on the bed, where on one occasion he bent her over the bed and he raped her. She said the abuse happened “whenever he got the chance - nearly every weekend”.

An application for a corroboration warning was made during the trial, when the accused man's counsel argued there was an absence of any witness to the offending.

They also asserted the generality of the complainant’s evidence and that there were conflicting s of other witnesses as regards when the complainant would be in the house.

Prosecuting counsel had counter-argued at the time that none of these factors are unusual in the case of sexual offending generally, and certainly not in the case of offending perpetrated against a child.

On Thursday, Mr Coffey said that the judge erred in law and in fact by declining to give a corroboration warning. He said that considering the specific evidence in this case and how it was presented, together with “the absence of any corroborative evidence whatsoever”, on balance such a warning was warranted.

Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, said it was "manifestly clear" there was nothing “special and peculiar” in the case that mandated the issuing of a corroboration warning. She argued there is no basis to assert that the trial judge exercised her discretion in error.

Mr Justice John Edwards said the three-judge court would reserve judgement in the case.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.