Priest cleared of sex abuse

A Catholic priest who denied he sexually assaulted his three cousins over 10 years ago was found not guilty by a jury yesterday. The priest, from Co Waterford, cannot be named for legal reasons. Shortly after his ordination his three cousins, a brother and sister and another teenager, alleged that he assaulted them in 1985 and in 1988 at his home and in a public house in Cork owned by his uncle. They claimed the offences occurred when they were aged four, seven and eight.