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LEITRIM OBSERVER
www.leitrimobserver.ie Wednesday, December 14, 2016
OBSERVER COURT/ NEWS
Carrick-on-Shannon Circuit Court
Jury return not guilty verdict
in underage sex case
At last week’s sitting of Carrick-on-Shannon Circuit
Court a jury of six men and
six women found a Galway
man not guilty on two
counts of defilement of a
child under the age of 17.
The case came before Court
after a jury failed to reach a
verdict when it was previously heard before the same
Court.
The defendant was arraigned before last Tuesday’s
sitting
of
Carrick-onShannon Circuit Court with
the defendant entering a plea
of not guilty to both counts in
relation to the offences which
were alleged to have occurred
at a hotel in Leitrim in March
2011.
A jury was subsequently
selected and sworn in prior to
evidence commencing.
The
defendant,
who
cannot be named so as to protect the identity of the injured
party, was said to have first
met the injured party in 2010
either after she completed
her Junior Cert or the night of
the Junior Cert results.
They subsequently became friends on Facebook
and began to communicate
via the Facebook messenger
and after they exchanged
phone numbers began communicating by text message.
The Court heard details of
the girl, who was 16 at the
time, being brought by the defendant to his rented accommodation in Co Galway on
two occasions before they
went to a hotel in Co Leitrim
in March 2011, the dates that
surrounded the alleged offences. He had previously
been found not guilty of any
offence in Galway.
Giving evidence last week,
the injured party said they
were in contact on a semi-regular basis from when they
first met until February 2011,
by which stage they were texting every day.
When asked if she knew
how old the defendant was,
the injured party replied that
she did, saying, “Yes, from his
Facebook page.” When asked
if the defendant knew her age,
she answered, “I presumed he
did from the Junior Cert and
then from my Facebook
page.”
The defendant brought the
16 year old to a 21st birthday
party in Co Galway and she acknowledged they willingly
had sex.
The girl’s mother contacted Gardai and the girl was
located and brought home.
Under cross-examination
from Paul Flannery SC, it was
put to the girl, “Was it a case
you were keen to get out of the
family home?” to which she
replied, “yes.”
Evidence was given of a
further visit to Galway with
the defendant before the injured party was again brought
home.
Upon returning home, the
injured party said she was
grounded by her mother and
said her next contact with the
defendant was on March 14
when she contacted him
using her sister’s phone as
her own phone had been
taken by Gardai.
Having left for school in
A jury of six men and six women found a defendant not guilty of two counts of defilement of a girl under 17 at
last week's sitting of Carrick-on-Shannon Circuit Court.
the morning, she contacted
the defendant who drove to
meet her in Co. Leitrim. Initially they returned to Galway
but the injured party, who
was still wearing her school
uniform, said the defendant
did not want to stay at his own
house with the girl for fear of
the Gardai returning.
Having slept overnight in
his car they returned in the
direction of Co Leitrim the
following day and checked
into a hotel with the girl
wearing a hoodie over her
school uniform.
She said they had sex
while in the hotel but she
could not be sure which of the
two nights they stayed there
that it occurred.
Evidence was given by a
hotel staff member who said
she believed the male to be in
his mid 20's and a girl who she
thought was her in her late
teens, who arrived after 10pm
looking for a room for the
night. She noted the girl said
“nothing at all.”
The couple checked out
the following morning but returned again that night at 10
or 10.30pm with staff noting
they had no luggage with
them.
The following day, March
17, staff in the hotel observed a
woman come into the lobby
and wait on her own while a
Garda came in and asked for
the defendant by name. The
Gardai were told what room
he was in and they were given
a master key.
Gardai then invoked section 12 of the Child Care Act
which the Court heard gives
Gardai the power to remove
children from certain situation if there are concerns.
When Gardai spoke to the
injured party she initially
gave her year of birth as 1993
as opposed to 1994, giving the
impression she was 17 years
old.
Evidence was given by
Gardai of the subsequent arrest of the defendant as well
as the interviews that followed.
The defendant did not give
direct evidence but transcripts of interviews were
read to the Court in which the
defendant said he was not
aware Gardai were looking
for the girl while they were in
the hotel.
“I did not honestly know
there were Gardai looking for
her. I did not keep her against
her will. She did not want to
go home.”
Kerida Naidoo SC closed
the State's case and addressed the jury saying the
defendant knew the injured
party was a schoolgirl, “Because she was wearing a
school uniform.”
Mr Naidoo added, “He
knew she had been taken
away twice by Gardai from his
house. He knew she was
under 17. He knew to give her
a hoodie so the receptionist
wouldn't recognise her as a
schoolgirl.”
The defence did not go
into evidence with Paul Flannery SC arguing the injured
party is, “A lady quite willing
to lie at will,” before adding,
“One thing this guy seems to
lack is sense. She does admit
he treated her well.”
Addressing the jury before they began their deliberation,
Judge
Francis
Comerford said, “If you think
the defendant behaved immorally but have a reasonable
doubt that he thought she
was 17, then your oath says
you have to acquit.
“If you believe she manipulated him but he knew she
was 16 you have to convict.”
The jury returned after
two hours and 10 minutes
with a unanimous verdict
and found the defendant not
guilty in relation to both
counts.
The State was represented
by Kerida Naidoo SC, Donal
Keane BL and State Solicitor
Noel Farrell.
The defence was represented by Paul Flannery SC,
Keith O’Grady BL and solicitor Ciara Macklin.
Opportunity for local households to get grant aid
for energy and heating upgrades
The North Leitrim SEC lead by
Energy Champion Seamus
Dunbar are seeking households
to participate in an energy efficient project with the possibility of grant aid for work.
The North Leitrim Sustainable Energy Community
is a voluntary group established in June 2016 to promote community owned
renewable energy and energy
efficiency in the area.
They are currently pre-
paring an application to the
SEAI under the Better Energy
Communities programme to
assist households and organisations to increase their energy efficiency and cut fuel
costs.
The group have identified
partners in the business and
public sector and are now
seeking a number of private
households to participate in
this project.
If successful, the application will fund a range of energy saving measures to a
level of 35% of the total cost
for households, rising to 80%
for “fuel poor” houses, where
the applicant is in receipt of
one of the following:
❍ Fuel Allowance as part of
the National Fuel Scheme
❍ Jobseeker’s Allowance for 6
months plus or where the
resident is the primary
carer of at least one child
under seven years.
❍ Jobseeker’s Benefit is not
eligible.
❍ Family Income Supplement
(FIS)
In receipt of the "One ParenFamily Payment"
Interested householders
must be in a position to pay
the balance of costs from
their own resources.
Eligible measures include
attic and roof insulation,
cavity and external wall insulation, heating upgrades and
door and window replacement, and work must be completed by October 2017. The
aim is to save energy and reduce costs by a minimum of
20%.
❍
As this is a pilot project,
the group will be able to include only a small number of
houses in this year’s application. If you are interested in
being considered, or for further information, contact the
group
at
[email protected]
making the subject “BEC expression of interest.” This is a
great opportunity for any
household who are unsure
how energy efficient their
home is or know that work
could be done to make their
home more energy and cost
efficient.