Tag Archives: charges

A 62-YEAR-old man has appeared in court charged with the rape, sexual assault and indecent assault of a young teenager 27 years ago. The man, who is from County Clare and cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with 11 counts of rape, four counts of oral rape, six counts of sexual assault and four counts of indecent assault on the same female. The charges are alleged to have taken place on various dates and at various locations within County Clare between December 18, 1989 and March 31, 1992, when the complainant would have been between 12 and 14 years of age. At a sitting of Ennis District Court, Detective Garda Claire O’Shaughnessy gave evidence of arresting the man and informed the court that the accused made no reply to any of the charges after caution. The man, who appeared in custody, was admitted to bail on his own bond of €500, subject to conditions that he reside at …

A 78-YEAR-old East Clare man has appeared before a sitting of Killaloe District Court, charged with possession of child pornography. The accused man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with knowingly having in his possession child pornography on April 30, 2009, at an East Clare address. Garda Aidan Sweeney outlined at this week’s sitting of Killaloe District Court that, of the images that are the subject of these charges, 81 fall under category 1, which is the most serious and relates to images depicting children engaging in explicit sexual activity or witnessing explicit sexual activity. A further 116 images, which are also subject to the charge before the court, relate to category 2. Judge Patrick Durcan was asked to determine whether the case would be dealt with in the district court or the circuit court, and he refused jurisdiction. He remanded the defendant to Killaloe District Court on November 1 for the preparation and service of a …

WHEN Aer Lingus announced it was removing Heathrow slots from Shannon in 2007 it was a hugely controversial move, strongly opposed by business and political interests in Clare. At the time there was speculation that the move was being made due to a secret agreement hammered out by the Government, as part of the peace process. There was little explanation from the airline itself, beyond saying that it was a commercial decision, something that many in Clare didn’t accept given the relatively high numbers that were using it. However, when Willie Walsh came before the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications last week he indicated that Aer Lingus took the decision because a competitor, presumably Ryanair, was being offered more favourable terms. Mr Walsh referred to the matter, saying it may be the reason for the current concern about connectivity. “I can understand the concern that has been expressed, particularly the concern expressed in Shannon because of what happened with …