The Court of Appeal has reduced from 30 to three the number of years a man must stay away from the mother of his children, whom he subjected to ‘a very violent assault’ in their home.

In an attack that lasted over 30 minutes, Daniel Wildes (33) had threatened to shave his former partner’s head and broke down a bathroom door to continue the assault.

The three-judge court found that the 30-year order had impacted excessively on his rights of freedom of association with his children, to further develop his relationship with his children, and to enjoyment of a family life, ….read more

A 53-year-old man has lost an appeal against his conviction for sexually assaulting a teenage girl who was on a sleepover, on grounds of jury bias, in a case that prompted the Court President to criticise the ‘disturbing’ practice of researching jurors.

The three judges of the Court of Appeal remarked that they were not at all surprised by the verdict that the jury delivered.

The man had raised ‘grave concerns’, after conviction, over the impartiality of the jury, with the defence writing a letter to the trial judge about its composition. However, the judge proceeded to sentence, and the man then ….read more

A 53-year-old man has appealed his convictions for indecent assault on his younger sisters in the 1980s, on the basis that the judge allowed his ‘no comment’ answers to Gardaí to go before the jury.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identities of his sisters, has also appealed his prison sentence.

He had pleaded not guilty to five counts against one sister, aged 11 or 12, when he was 14 or 15. He also denied one count against his other sister, aged 12 or 13, when he was 18 or 19.

He went on trial before the Circuit Criminal Court ….read more

A Cork man has appealed the drugs conviction that led to him being sentenced to 10 years in prison.

He had told gardai that he was out getting papers for his pet Chihuahua, when caught with more than €37,000 worth of heroin in his jeep.

Daniel Wyse (36), with a last address at Glenfields Park, Ballyvolane, was charged with possession of the drugs for sale or supply at Halfway Crossroads, Rathduff, Co. Cork on 15th February 2014.

Gardaí had attempted to stop and search the Grand Vitara jeep Wyse was driving, and followed him into a cul de sac. Wyse, who had a ….read more

(Pictured: Seamus Marley. Credit: Collins)

An alleged IRA man who was jailed for raping teenage boys at a “republican safe house” over two decades ago has gotten a date for his application for more time to lodge an appeal against his conviction.

Passing sentence at the Central Criminal Court in May last year, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said that Belfast native Seamus Marley used his standing in the republican movement, a movement “well capable of clandestine killings”, to silence his victims.

The 46-year-old, with a last address at Belfield Court, Stillorgan Road, in Dublin, had pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting and anally ….read more

A father jailed for the genital mutilation of his daughter in what was the first case of its kind in Ireland is to appeal his conviction and sentence.

The 37-year-old was sentenced to five-and-a-half years imprisonment by Judge Elma Sheehan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last January. He was also sentenced to three years imprisonment on a count of child cruelty which the judge ordered to run concurrently with the other sentence.

The defendant had pleaded not guilty to one count of carrying out an act of FGM on a then one-year-old girl at an address in Dublin on September 16, 2016. ….read more

It “defies logic” that a teenage girl who was orally raped by her father failed to notice his penis implants, his lawyers told the Court of Appeal today.

The man’s legal team also submitted that it could have helped the defence at trial if investigating gardai had asked the complainant for a description of her father’s penis.

Lawyers for the man today argued that the prosecution had created “a fundamental gap” in the evidence by providing no rational explanation as to how the sexual abuse had occurred without the complainant having noticed three plastic implants, which had been previously surgically inserted underneath ….read more

A Cork man has failed to overturn his conviction for shooting a young woman in the neck through the window of a house in the city four years ago. The Court of Appeal found no miscarriage of justice.

Gavin Sheehan (33), with a last address at Laurel Ridge, Shanakiel, Cork, had been sentenced to 14 years in prison for firing the handgun on May 15, 2016.

He had denied all charges, but was found guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition, reckless discharge of a firearm and assault causing serious harm to Ciara Sheehan (no relation).

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin sentenced him ….read more

An octogenarian paedophile who serially abused children in his family has failed in an attempt to have his conviction for using his son as a “sexual plaything” overturned on appeal.

The now 86-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect his victim’s identity, was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury of three counts of indecent assault of his son at the family home on dates between 1977 and 1979. The convicted paedophile had denied the three charges.

The Clare man received consecutive sentences totalling four years imposed by Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy on May 15, 2017. The maximum ….read more

A man has appealed his prison sentence for sexually assaulting his flat mate while she slept on a couch in their Dublin home.

The 29-year-old Italian man was jailed for two and a half years in January, after pleading guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to carrying out the offence on April 28, 2018. He cannot be named to protect his victim’s identity.

The Court of Appeal yesterday reserved judgement, saying that they could have reached a decision within a few hours if they had been able to debate around a table rather than remotely, as they were now working. The three ….read more