A Donegal man has been acquitted by a jury of 34 counts of raping and indecently assaulting a woman when she was a child.
The jury spent nine hours on day six of the trial deliberating on 46 counts of indecent assault and rape of the woman. On the remaining 12 counts the jury informed Mr Justice Paul Carney they could not reach a majority verdict. The man (62) had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the counts of indecent assault and rape of the woman, who is eight years younger than him. The alleged abuse took place between January 1965 and June 1975.
The man told gardaí he “had developed feelings” for the woman but they never had a sexual relationship. He told gardaí his foster mother, who was the complainant’s guardian, “became aware of feelings between us and she wanted to interrupt this”. He claimed he was 23 at the time and the complainant was 15 or 16.