A 70-YEAR old man has appeared in court charged in connection with the indecent assault and sexual assault of six complainants at two Catholic Church buildings, a Parochial House and two primary schools in the mid 1980s and in October 1993.
At Ennis District Court, the accused man – with a Co Clare address – has appeared in connection with 16 counts of indecent assault and sexual assault against five male complainants and one female complainant.
The date range of 15 of the alleged offences is from 1982 to 1985 and a 16th count concerns an alleged sexual assault of a male at a Co Clare church on a date unknown from October 1st 1993 to October 17th 1993 contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) act 1990 as amended by Section 37 of the Sex Offenders Act.
The alleged offences from the mid 1980s are all alleged to have occurred at locations in Co Tipperary.
In relation to one complainant, the accused is facing four counts of allegedly indecently assaulting the male at a primary school, a Catholic Church and a parochial house on two occasions in Co Tipperary on unknown dates between September 1st 1982 and December 1983.
The accused also faces four counts of indecently assaulting a female at a parochial house in Co Tipperary on dates unknown between July 1st 1982 and August 31st 1982.
The accused man also faces a charge in indecent assault against a male at the same Parochial house on an unknown date during the same timeframe on July 1st 1982 and August 31st 1982.
The accused faced a further three counts of indecently assaulting a male at the same Parochial House between July 1st 1982 and May 31st 1983.
The man also faces three further counts of indecently assaulting a male at another primary school in Co Tipperary on unknown dates between September 1st 1983 and June 30th 1985.
In court, Sgt Frank O’Grady told Judge Adrian Harris that a Book of Evidence is not yet ready in the case and solicitor, Daragh Hassett for the accused said that there was consent to adjourn the case to December 16th to Ennis District Court for a Book of Evidence.
The case will then go forward to Ennis Circuit Court.
