A Co Donegal priest is seeking permission to bring an appeal to the Supreme Court against his conviction for raping a teenage parishioner in a church sacristy more than twenty years ago.
Fr Daniel Doherty (49) Derriscleigh, Carrigart, has argued the appeal raises important points of law which should, on grounds of exceptional public interest, be decided by the Supreme Court.
The legal issues raised include the admissibility of statements in a criminal trial which do not comply with the requirements of Section 21 of the Criminal Justice Act.
Lawyers for Doherty applied to the Court of Criminal Appeal today to certify the points of law as requiring determination by the Supreme Court.
The three judge CCA, with Ms Justice Fidelma Macken presiding and sitting with Mr Justice George Birmingham and Mr Justice John Edwards, reserved its decision to next week.
Earlier this year, the CCA had dismissed Doherty’s appeal against his conviction in 2006 on two charges of raping the then 13-year-old girl in the sacristy on dates in 1985. He was also convicted of indecently assaulting the girl in the parochial house in 1985 and in his car on a date in December 1984.
Doherty received a seven year prison sentence and was registered as a sex offender.
The woman first made her allegations formally in a letter to the Bishop of Raphoe, Dr Séamus Hegarty, in 2003 which led to a Garda investigation and prosecution.
A complaint made earlier to her teachers in the 1980s did not result in a proper investigation by the school and gardaí were not contacted until she made her formal allegations 18 years later.