A Clare man was convicted by a jury in the Central Criminal Court yesterday of raping and sexually abusing his partner's daughter. The defendant, who is in his 50s, was remanded in custody for sentence by Mr Justice O'Donovan on June 10th. He was convicted of raping and indecently assaulting the girl in 1989 and again in 1990, indecently assaulting her in 1987 and sexually assaulting her in September 1995.
The judge refused to grant the Mid-Western Health Board an order for costs against the defence in relation to a discovery motion made before the trial began. The defence had sought discovery against the board of files containing information that the girl had previously claimed her brother had sexually abused her. Her mother had reported her allegation to her son's probation officer and the information was then forwarded to the social services. The victim told the trial the allegation had been false. The defendant had told her to make the claim to her mother.