Father acquitted of sexually assaulting daughter

A jury at the Central Criminal Court has found a west Dublin father not guilty on 45 charges of indecent assault on one of his…

A jury at the Central Criminal Court has found a west Dublin father not guilty on 45 charges of indecent assault on one of his daughters over a number of years.

Earlier, the jury was directed by Mr Justice Paul Carney to find the separated man not guilty on one charge of raping his now 28-year-old daughter and 15 further indecent assault charges.

The jury of six men and six women deliberated for almost six hours and failed to reach a verdict on nine remaining indecent assault charges.

The foreman told Mr Justice Carney there was no likelihood of it coming to a decision on them.

READ MORE

The 48-year-old man originally faced one charge of rape and 69 of indecent assault on his daughter on dates from 1982 to 1987.

Mr Justice Carney thanked the jury for its work on the five-day hearing of what he said was a most difficult case and exempted the members from jury service for the rest of their lives.

The accused was released from the court on continuing bail for mention of the remaining charges at a later stage when a new date for trial of them might be set.