Irish celebrity accused of engaging in sexual acts with girl, 16, found not guilty on all charges
AN Irish celebrity accused of engaging in sexual acts with a 16-year-old girl over a decade ago has been acquitted following a trial at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
The man, 40, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to three counts of engaging in sexual acts with a child under the age of 17 at locations in Dublin on dates between August and December 2010.
He was aged 27 at the time.
After deliberating for over five and half hours, the jury returned majority verdicts of not guilty on all counts today after an eight-day trial.
The man, dressed in a blue suit, appeared anxious, taking deep breaths as the jury entered the courtroom.
He stood for the verdicts and appeared overwhelmed by emotion as the registrar asked the jury foreperson if they had reached a verdict on which 10 of them were agreed.
As she read out the verdicts and said 'not guilty' after each count, two people attending court muttered 'thank God'.
After the court sitting finished, the man looked relieved as his solicitor spoke to him briefly.
Outside the courtroom, he was embraced.
The complainant was not present when the verdicts were returned by the jury.
Most read in Irish News
Judge Pauline Codd thanked the jurors for the time and attention they had given the case.
She noted these types of cases can be “particularly difficult” due to their “historic nature”.
Earlier today, the jury gave a note to Judge Pauline Codd after after more than five hours of deliberations, indicating that they could not reach a unanimous decision.
The judge told jurors the court would accept a majority verdict on which at least 10 of them were agreed, then invited them to continue their deliberations.
The prosecution case centred around three alleged instances of sexual contact between the entertainer and the girl between August and December 2010 when she was aged 16.
She turned 17 in January 2011, thereby reaching the legal age of consent.
The prosecution case was that the man defiled the complainant by having her engage in oral sex with him - once in his workplace and twice at his home.
In her evidence, the now 29-year-old woman said she met the man on July 11, 2010 at Oxegen festival after being separated from her friend before the Eminem concert.
She gave him her phone number and they chatted over the following weeks.
Read More on The Sun
She said she initially told the man she was 18, but “came clean” that she was 16 by text before their first alleged sexual encounter in August 2010.
In their closing speeches, both counsel noted that the woman doesn’t have a grudge against the man and did not say a bad word about him in her evidence.