Ireland Nine phones seized during search of man accused of sexual offences against a child, court hears
An Irish man, 40, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of engaging in sexual acts with a child under 17 and is charged with defilement of a minor over alleged offences against a woman who was 16 at the time. The alleged offences took place in Dublin between August and December 2010, one on a staircase at his then workplace and two at his home. A detective sergeant became aware of the allegations in March 2021, gardaí searched his house on June 7, 2021 and seized nine phones, and a DNA sample was taken from him on May 5, 2022 during a period of detention. The jury was selected at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on October 9, 2023, the trial opened on October 10, and garda evidence about the phones was heard on October 12; the trial is continuing and no verdict has been reported.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In court9 Oct
8 reports - Verdict
- Sentenced
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- An Irish man, 40, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of engaging in sexual acts with a child under the age of 17.
- The State's case is that he put his penis in the complainant's mouth on three occasions, once at his workplace and twice at his home.
- Charges
- The man is charged with defilement of a minor and denies all charges against him.
- When
- The alleged offences took place between August and December 2010, when the complainant was 16 and the man was 27.
- Where
- One alleged sex act took place in the stairwell of his then workplace building in Dublin, and two took place at his home in Dublin.
- Other details
- The complainant met the man at the Oxegen music festival in July 2010, when she was on summer holidays.
- The complainant says she told the man she was 16 before any sexual activity, but the defence says she only told him her age after she turned 17 in January 2011, and she initially told him she was 18.
- The prosecution says the man knew the complainant was under 17 and that a child's consent is not a defence, while the defence says nothing sexual happened at his home and she never went there.
- Investigation
- A detective sergeant became aware of the complainant's allegations in March 2021.
- Gardaí searched the man's house on June 7, 2021 and seized four Huawei phones and five iPhones, and the man provided the PIN numbers for all nine.
- An expert said four of the nine phones needed specialist repairs before examination, and data was extracted from eight of them.
- Gardaí took a DNA sample from the man on May 5, 2022 during a period of detention.
- In court
- A jury was selected on Monday, October 9, 2023 at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, and the trial opened on October 10, 2023.
- The trial is before Judge Pauline Codd and a jury, though one source names Judge Patricia Ryan as the judge who told jurors not to discuss the case outside the jury room.
- The complainant gave evidence and was cross-examined, and a friend told the court the complainant said she performed oral sex on the man in a stairwell at his workplace.
- The trial is expected to last four to five days, and the trial is continuing with no verdict reported.
59 statements extracted from the articles
- whatThe man has pleaded not guilty to three counts of engaging in sexual acts with a child under the age of 17. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe accused has pleaded not guilty to three counts of engaging in sexual acts with a child under 17. (irishmirror.ie, irishtimes.com)
- whatIt is alleged the accused orally penetrated the teenager on a staircase at his then place of work. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatIt is alleged the accused orally penetrated the teenager on two occasions at his home in Dublin. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe State's case is that the accused put his penis in the complainant's mouth on three occasions, once at his workplace and twice at his home. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatGardaí seized nine mobile phones during a search of the home of an Irish celebrity accused of engaging in sexual acts with a teenage girl. (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe alleged offences took place at locations in Dublin. (irishtimes.com, irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
- whereThe complainant said the first alleged incident happened in the stairwell of the accused's workplace building. (irishtimes.com)
- whereOne alleged sex act took place on a staircase at the accused's then place of work. (dublinlive.ie)
- whereTwo alleged sex acts took place at the accused's home in Dublin. (dublinlive.ie)
- whenThe alleged offences took place on dates between August 2010 and December 2010. (irishtimes.com, irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe alleged offences were on dates between August 2010 and December 2010. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe alleged offences took place on dates between August and December 2010. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe alleged offences took place between August 2010 and December 2010. (dublinlive.ie)
- whenThe alleged offences took place between August and December 2010. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe complainant was 16 at the time of the alleged offences, and the accused was 27. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe alleged offences are said to have occurred between August and December 2010. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationA garda witness said he was present during a search of the man's house on June 7, 2021. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationFour Huawei phones and five iPhones were seized by gardaí following the search. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe man provided the PIN numbers for the nine phones to gardaí. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationAn expert witness said four of the nine phones required specialist repairs before they could be examined. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationData was extracted from eight of the nine phones seized at the man's house. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí took a DNA sample from the man on May 5th 2022, during a period of detention. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationA detective sergeant became aware of the complainant's allegations against the man in March 2021. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeThe man is charged with defilement of a minor. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeThe accused has pleaded not guilty to three counts of engaging in sexual acts with a child under the age of 17. (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
- chargeThe accused denies all of the charges against him. (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeThe accused pleaded not guilty to three counts of engaging in sexual acts with a child under the age of 17. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe man was present at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Monday when a jury was selected. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial is expected to open on Tuesday. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial is expected to last four to five days. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe accused appeared in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court and a jury was selected. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe judge directed jurors not to speak about the case outside the jury room. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial was due to formally start the next day and was expected to last four to five days. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial is before Judge Pauline Codd and a jury at Dublin's Circuit Court. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial was set to continue the afternoon of the report. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial began on the first day at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on a Tuesday. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial continues before Judge Pauline Codd and the jury. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial is before Judge Pauline Codd and a jury at Dublin Circuit Court. (dublinlive.ie)
- courtThe case is being heard at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial continues before Judge Pauline Codd and a jury. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe complainant told the court she was in the man's house twice and they engaged in sexual acts. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe defence put to the complainant that nothing of an intimate or sexual nature happened. (irishtimes.com)
- courtA friend of the complainant told the court the complainant said she performed oral sex on the man in a stairwell at his workplace. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial continues. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe judge, Patricia Ryan, told jurors not to speak about the trial outside the jury room. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe complainant first claimed to be 17 and then told the accused she was 16. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe accused allegedly asked the complainant if she was 'sweet 16' in a text message. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe prosecution said the accused was 27 when he met the complainant. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe complainant told the court she told the accused she was 16 before any sexual activity. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe defence's position is that the complainant did not tell the accused her actual age until she turned 17 in January 2011. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe complainant was a 16-year-old girl at the time of the alleged offences. (dublinlive.ie)
- otherThe prosecution's case is that the accused knew the complainant was under 17. (dublinlive.ie)
- otherThe prosecution said the Act provides that consent by a child is not a defence. (dublinlive.ie)
- otherThe defence says the complainant told the accused her age only after she turned 17. (dublinlive.ie)
- otherThe trial is continuing. (dublinlive.ie)
- otherThe defence put to the complainant that nothing sexual happened at the accused's home and that she never went there. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe complainant said she was in the accused's house twice and they engaged in sexual acts. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe complainant initially told the man she was 18. (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 12 Oct2023Gardaí seized nine phones belonging to Irish broadcaster accused of defilement of child, court hears
Court report on the trial: evidence from gardaí about the 2021 search, seized phones, data extraction, the DNA sample and the complainant's age claim. The article does not give a single incident date.
accused, 40, malevictim, female - 11 Oct2023Woman rejects suggestion that nothing of ‘an intimate or sexual nature’ happened at home of broadcaster
Reports the cross-examination of the complainant at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, including defence challenges to her account and evidence from a friend and a former senior executive at the man's workplace.
accused, 40, malevictim, 16 at time of alleged offences, female - 11 Oct2023Woman in Irish celebrity defilement trial rejects defence claims
Reports the complainant's cross-examination and the defence's suggestions that nothing sexual happened at the accused's home or workplace. The trial continues before Judge Pauline Codd and a jury. The accused cannot be named for legal reasons.
accused, 40, malevictim, 16 at the time of the alleged offences, female - 11 Oct2023Irish broadcaster accused of sexually 'defiling' 16-year-old girl in Dublin
Trial report: the accused has pleaded not guilty to three counts; the prosecution, defence and complainant's evidence are reported, and the trial continues. No existing case matches this incident.
accused, 40s, malevictim, 16, female - 10 Oct2023Woman insists she told broadcaster she was 16 before they engaged in sexual activity
Trial report from day one of the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial. The complainant gave evidence and was cross-examined by the defence, and the trial continues before Judge Pauline Codd and the jury. No verdict is reported.
accused, 40, male, Irish, irishvictim, 16, female - 10 Oct2023Irish celebrity accused of sexually defiling 16-year-old on workplace stairwell
Trial report from Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The accused has pleaded not guilty and cannot be named for legal reasons. The article gives the alleged offending dates only as between August and December 2010.
accused, 40s, male, Irish, irishvictim, 16, female - 9 Oct2023Trial of Irish celebrity charged with defilement of a child to begin tomorrow
Reports the start of the trial: the jury was selected and the trial was due to open the next day. The accused has pleaded not guilty to three counts.
accused, 40s, male - 9 Oct2023Jury selected in trial of Irish broadcaster accused of defiling a minor
Reports that a jury was selected on Monday for the trial, that the trial is expected to open on Tuesday and last four to five days, and that the man has pleaded not guilty to three counts. Gives the alleged period (August to December 2010) and the court.
accused, 40s, male, Irish, irish