Court rejects Donegal rapist's argument that fifth trial was an abuse of process

The Court of Appeal has rejected an argument by a Donegal man jailed for ten years for the repeated rape of a teenager over a five-year period that there was an abuse of process as it took five trials before he was convicted.   

Liam Carr’s victim had outlined in his impact statement, which was previously read out at the Central Criminal Court, that he was put through four trials and six years of “complete torture” in his quest for justice. 

Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said that the court could not see an issue having arisen from placing Carr (62) on trial for a fifth time, as she rejected his appeal against conviction.  

Carr, with an address in Ballina, Falcarragh, Co Donegal, was found guilty by a jury of 31 counts of sexual assault, anal rape and oral rape of the boy in various locations in Donegal between September 1995 and September 2000 following a Central Criminal Court trial in Sligo in 2021. The jury was unable to agree on four further counts.

It was the fifth trial to take place after the jury in three other trials were discharged for legal reasons while the jury in a fourth trial was unable to agree on a verdict.  

Carr did not accept the verdicts of the jury and duly appealed the conviction.  

In delivering the Court of Appeal’s judgement today, Ms Justice Kennedy said the appellant had argued that the trial judge erred in admitting into the trial the evidence of a witness to whom the complainant had made a complaint of previous sexual abuse. It was submitted that Mr Justice David Keane had invited the jury to infer that Carr was the alleged abuser referred to. 

Carr also argued that the trial judge did not give a corroboration warning to the jury concerning the evidence of this witness, namely that the witness’s evidence was not capable of corroborating the complainant’s testimony. He also argued that multiple trials on the same charges breached his right to a fair trial.

Ms Justice Kennedy said that in charging the jury, the trial judge gave a clear account of the defence case, adding that there was no suggestion that the judge expressly invited the jury to draw the inference that the previous complaint of sexual abuse by the complainant referred to Carr. She said that in the court’s view, the trial judge properly directed the jury about the standard of proof and the presumption of innocence.

Concerning the corroboration warning, Ms Justice Kennedy said that the warning given by the judge was of a strong order, as he very clearly pointed out the absence of corroboration. She pointed out that the appellant had been represented by extremely experienced counsel who did not find fault with the judge’s charge. 

Concerning the third ground of appeal that there had been an abuse of process as the appellant faced five trials, Ms Justice Kennedy said it was clear that no application was made before the trial judge to stop the trial. She said the appellant’s argument was that the judge failed to make any proper enquiry as to the procedural history of the case.  

“There is no obligation on a trial judge to make this enquiry. On the contrary, should there be an issue concerning placing an individual on trial for a fifth time – and we cannot see it arising here in the circumstances of this case – an individual has other potential remedies available,” said Ms Justice Kennedy.  

In summary, the court rejected the appeal.   

In an impact statement delivered after the trial, the victim said his childhood had been “snatched” from him as a result of the abuse and was something he could never get back. He was aged between 13 and 18 when the abuse occurred.  

He said that from when he first went to gardaí in October 2015 to when the jury returned with guilty pleas, it was “six years of complete torture” for himself and his wife. “We could not get on with our lives because of the length of the court process,” he said.  

“Not only was my childhood taken from me, but I am 39 and the majority of my adult life has been spent trying to deal with what happened to me and get justice,” he said at the end of 2021.  

  The man said he had to take the stand four times and outline to strangers the abuse he was subjected to at the hands of Carr. “Forty-two days trying to defend my honour,” he said. “No-one will ever understand what me and (my wife) went through.”