A Co Galway man has had his conviction of sexually assaulting a young girl more than a decade ago declared a miscarriage of justice following admissions by the girl she lied about the alleged offence.
The three judge Court of Criminal Appeal today certified Michael Feichin Hannon’s 1999 conviction for sexual assault and assault of then 10-year-old Una Hardester was a miscarriage of justice.
Delivering the CCA decision, Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman, sitting with Mr Justice Daniel Herbert and Mr Justice John MacMenamin, said this was an “alarming and disturbing” case where an entirely innocent man was convicted by a jury and the CCA was
unimpressed by the “wickedness or gravity of what was done”.
He said Mr Hannon was entitled to have his good name restored. The granting of a certificate also means Mr Hannon is entitled to seek compensation from the State.
Ms Hardester had in 2006 admitted her claims were untrue and the CCA ruled those admissions amounted to newly discovered facts rendering the conviction a miscarriage of justice. It rejected the DPP’s argument a miscarriage should not be certified on grounds of no wrongdoing by the State or its agents.
Mr Justice Hardiman said the issue in the case was very narrow - whether a convicted person now recognised as having been at all stages innocent of the charges was entitled to a certificate. The issue was not to be confused with the separate issue whether only a person whose innocence is recognised as uncontrovertible was entitled to such a certificate.
Mr Hannon (34), Attymon, Athenry Co Galway, originally from the Clifden area, received a suspended four year prison sentence at Galway Circuit Court after being found guilty by a jury of sexually assaulting and assaulting Ms Hardester near her then
home at Aughrismore, Cleggan, Co Galway in January 1997.
Outside court, Mr Hannon said he “always maintained my innocence” of the crime of which he was convicted.
“I am very pleased and relieved that my conviction has been quashed and that the court has confirmed I suffered a miscarriage of justice. The day has long been coming.” The last ten years had been difficult for his family who also had to live with “the stigma” of a conviction for something he did not do, he said.
While the DPP had not opposed the quashing of his conviction, Mr Hannon said he was “disappointed” the DPP had “fully resisted” his application for a certificate. “No State agency or department has ever apologised or expressed regret for what happened to me,” he said.
“If what happened to me is not a miscarriage of justice what is?” he asked. “I hope that more care will be taken in the future to ensure that it never happens again.”
In the CCA judgment, Mr Justice Hardiman said this case was unlike any miscarriage of justice the court was aware of in that the defence had not complained about the Garda investigation or conduct of the trial and Mr Hannon had not appealed.
He said Ms Hardester, now in her 20s and living in the US, had in 2006 made statements to gardai in Co Galway withdrawing her original complaints against Mr Hannon, admitting these were not true, fabricated and false in their entirety. She said she had decided to come clean after “finding God.”
She also said her motivation for making these allegations was “revenge and misplaced loyalty to my family” and she now wanted to tell the truth so Mr Hannon’s name could be cleared.
The judge noted the two families lived near each other but fell out in a dispute over land. A few days before her complaint Ms Hardester had been in court with her father, Crofton, who was convicted of assaulting Mr Hannon’s father.
Ms Hardester said she had never come into contact with Mr Hannon at any stage in his life and was never coerced or coached by anyone. She added she had done something terribly wrong and got away with it whereas others especially Mr Hannon had paid a heavy price.
Ms Hardester also apologised to the State and all other involved in the case for wasting their time and money. Mr Hannon found out about the retractions “by chance” when a member of his family met with the complainant in November 2006.
Mr Justice Hardiman said the DPP’s objection to a certificate of miscarriage of justice focussed on a technical point and that meant the court’s decision was mainly technical in nature.
That did not mean the court was unimpressed “at the wickedness or gravity of what was done”. Mr Hannon was falsely and maliciously accused of an offence which had the risk of a jail sentence and “the certainty of substantial social opprobrium and stigmatisation”, he said.
Once the jury had convicted Mr Hannon, the trial judge was bound by that decision but very fortunately had imposed a suspended sentence, he also noted. While Ms Hardester had said she had never understood why Mr Hannon did not appeal, Mr Justice Hardiman said it was “utterly improbable” an appeal would have succeeded.