Ex-Limerick Scout leader fails to overturn rape verdict after ‘juror’ claimed to have been put under 'pressure'
A purported juror wrote a letter alleging that other panel members were biased, Court of Appeal hears
A FORMER Scout leader who raped his cousin and abused her two sisters has failed to convince the Court of Appeal that his convictions were unsafe, after someone claiming to be a juror in his trial wrote a letter alleging that other panel members were biased and had put the author under "immense pressure".
The court underlined that no material purporting to come from a juror is receivable after a trial for the purpose of impeaching a verdict.
The 63-year-old Limerick man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of two of the sisters who wish to retain their anonymity, had pleaded not guilty but was convicted of five of the six offences following a trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Limerick in February 2024.
The offences included two counts of indecent assault and one count of rape against one sister at her home between 1979 and 1981 when she was aged between six and eight years old and the accused was between 15 and 18 years old.
He was also convicted of one count of sexual assault against each of her two sisters. These offences occurred between May and September 1991 when the victims were teenagers, and the man was in his mid-twenties.
The women reported the abuse to gardaí in 2019.
The defendant was sentenced to seven and a half years by Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo in April 2024 and the court heard this Thursday that having lost his conviction appeal, he does not intend to appeal his sentence.
Between the end of his trial and his sentencing hearing, the defendant's solicitor received a letter purporting to be from one of the jurors.
The person who wrote the letter claimed that some other members of the jury had prior knowledge of the people involved in the trial and the circumstances of what happened. The letter also claimed other jurors were biased and put the author under "immense pressure".
Mr Justice Alexander Owens, delivering judgment at the three-judge court today, said the jury verdicts were unanimous and no issues were raised by any juror at the trial. The trial judge gave the jury panel details of the charges and identities of the principal witnesses and warned them not to sit if they knew anyone involved.
Mr Justice Owens dismissed a suggestion by the defendant's lawyers that gardai should have forensically examined the letter to discover its author and investigate the claims made. Any effort to interview jurors for such an investigation would, the judge said, be a contempt of court. He said that the law states that no testimony or unsworn material purporting to come from a juror is receivable after a trial for the purpose of impeaching a verdict.
Such evidence would breach the privilege of jury confidentiality, he said, adding: "It would be no more proper for gardai to seek such information from jurors than it would be for the solicitor for a defendant to approach jurors with a view to enquiring how they reached their verdict."
He said the general rule is that the court will not entertain or receive any material such as had been advanced in this case to question a jury verdict.
The court rejected all grounds and dismissed the appeal.
The man’s sentencing hearing at the Central Criminal Court heard that the indecent assault against the first sister involved him touching her vagina after carrying her upstairs and removing her underwear. He was babysitting her at the time.
In the second incident he asked her to touch his penis and then kiss it, presenting it as a game.
In relation to the rape incident, the woman believes she must have passed out as her next recollection was lying on the bathroom floor and her cousin splashing water on her face.
The court heard that ten years later the man, who was by then a Scout leader, convinced the sisters’ parents to allow the two other victims to accompany him on a charity fundraising trip with the Scouts.
During this trip, he arranged that the second victim sleep in a tent alone by herself. The teenager later woke up when she felt pressure on her face and body. She found her cousin lying on top of her. He then sexually assaulted her by touching her breasts.
On the same trip, the third victim went on a drive with her cousin in a van. He drove to an isolated spot and when they both got out of the vehicle, he walked towards her, grabbed her by the elbows and forcibly kissed her on the lips.