This article is from page 8 of the 2007-11-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
AN elderly Ennis man charged with sexually assaulting a neighbour over a three-year period has been cleared of the charges by a jury.
The man was before Ennis Circuit Court last week facing 19 charges of sex assault on dates between March 1975 and May 1978.
The alleged victim was aged be- tween 12 and 15 years at the time and said she had been assaulted by the accused when sent to his house on various messages.
The court heard evidence that the accused was alleged to have touched
the then teenager on her breast and private parts and to have shown her pornographic pictures on playing cards and in magazines. He was also alleged to have shown her a photo of himself naked, taken in his bedroom with an instamatic camera.
The accused had pleaded not guilty to all charges. The jury heard that the alleged victim made a complaint about the accused on Christmas Day, 25 years after she claimed the as- saults had started.
The jury of nine men and three women cleared the man of all charg- es after deliberating for almost four hours.