Charges against a member of a Catholic religious order who was accused of sexually abusing young boys in Northern Ireland have been dropped. Mr Joseph Laurence Reid (45), known as Brother Alphonsus, walked free from Newtownards Magistrates' Court, Co Down, after the charges were withdrawn.
Mr Reid, with an address at the headquarters of the De Ia Salle order at Castletown, Portlaoise, had faced five charges.
A second member of the order, Mr Joseph Scally (60), also known as Brother Florence, was further remanded at the same court. He is due to appear for a preliminary inquiry in Newtownards in December.
Mr Scally faces seven charges, including buggery and indecent assault. The offences are alleged to have been committed at the De la Salle Boys' Home at Kircubbin, Co Down, in the 1970s.