This article is from page 14 of the 2009-11-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
THE CASE OF a 29-year-old man who admitted sexually assaulting four of his cousins over 10 years ago will not be finalised for a year, as he continues to receive treatment.
The accused, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the victims, pleaded guilty to 14 charges at Ennis District Court.
He admitted eight charges in rela- tion to one cousin; three charges in relation to another; two charges in relation to another and one charge in relation to another cousin.
The incidents occurred between 1995 and 1996 when the girls were aged between eight and 10.
The accused was a teenager at the nb eelon
The case initially came before the district court a year ago and was ad- journed to last Friday.
Counsel for the accused, Mark N1- cholas, BL, told Ennis District Court on Friday, that his client had pleaded ean iA
He said that a preliminary report from the Grenada Institute had been presented in court a year ago and an updated report was now available.
He said that while there was no
minimising what had happened, the report was “very positive.”
He said there had not been any in- cidents prior to or after the offences before the court.
Mr Nicholas told Judge Leo Malone that the issue of compensation had been addressed and €26,000 had been accumulated.
“The real tragedy in this 1s that it has divided a close family and that 1s irreparable,” he said.
Judge Malone said he sympathised with the victims and said he had read the reports from the Grenada Insti- tute and the probation service.
He said it was in the accused’s fa- vour that he was very young when the offences were committed and said it appeared that he 1s addressing his difficulties.
‘Because of the content of the Gre- nada Institute report, I am not going to finalise the case today. I need to be satisfied he has carried out all the treatment available to him and that he is not a danger to others,” said the judge.
He adjourned the case for a year and ordered that the accused con- tinue to attend the Grenada Institute and remain under the supervision of the probation service.