A judge has ordered a pensioner who sexually abused a neighbour's 12-year-old son to leave the area or face jail. Judge Michael Connellan at Dublin District Court was told the man had pleaded guilty to eight counts of sexually assaulting the boy in his Dublin home. The child's parents had been friendly with the defendant and had allowed their son to go in and out of his house. The offences occurred in 1996.
Judge Connellan was told the defendant had undertaken to put his house on the market and move out of the area. While he was not living in the house, which adjoins the boy's home, he was in temporary accommodation across the road. He had also gone on a waiting list for a senior citizen's home.
The boy's father said he was not happy with the man living across the road. Judge Connellan said if he did not move out quickly, the court would take the defendant "out of circulation". He adjourned the case for a month to give him time to find somewhere else to live.