A PRIEST who denies sexually abusing two young boys while he was serving as a curate in the parish of Steelstown in Derry between 1975 and 1981 yesterday failed in his fifth attempt to have legal proceedings against him stopped.
Father Edward Kilpatrick (53), a native of Bellaghy, Co Derry, faces 19 charges of abuse in Derry Crown Court.
Mr Eugene Grant QC, defending, said it would be impossible for the defendant to have a fair trial. He cited the proximity of potential jurors and witnesses, who shared the same room in the court building, and a headline in a newspaper with a circulation of 8,000 which he believed also went out on the Internet.
Mr Terence Mooney QC, for the DPP, said the defendant had not demonstrated any change of circumstances which would cause the court to accede to the application.
Judge Tom Burgess said he was satisfied that the defendant could receive a fair trial.