A man has been found guilty of the defilement of a child who he claimed he was in an arranged marriage with.
The 22-year-old Clare man, who cannot be named, had pleaded not guilty to defiling a child at a guesthouse in Ennis, Co Clare, between July 11th and 12th, 2010.
A jury of seven men and five women took just under four hours to find him guilty. Judge Mary Ellen Ring remanded him in custody until sentencing later this month.
The trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard evidence that the man drove the 16-year-old girl to a guesthouse in Clare and had sex with her.
The accused claimed he thought she was aged 19 and that she had agreed to marry him after two earlier meetings.
He told prosecuting counsel, Martina Baxter, he planned to go with her to the Bishop of Offaly, named in court as Fr Cox, because he was “sympathetic to these quick marriages”.
Giving evidence via video link, the victim denied agreeing to marry the man and said he had destroyed her life.