IRELAND
Irish Times
Ruaidhrí Giblin
A priest who was jailed for indecently assaulting a schoolboy in the 1970s has had his conviction quashed over a trial judge’s decision not to warn the jury about the dangers of convicting in the absence of corroboration.
Tadhg O’Dalaigh (73), of Blackrock, Dublin had pleaded not guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to one count of indecently assaulting a 16-year-old boy at Coláiste Chroí Naofa in Carrignavar, Co Cork on a date unknown in 1979.
He was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, with the final two suspended, by Judge Donagh McDonagh on December 18th, 2014.
O’Dalaigh successfully appealed his conviction on Monday, with the Court of Appeal holding the trial judge erred in refusing to give the jury a corroboration warning, in a case which lacked corroborative evidence.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.