The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
A Clare man has gone on trial accused of raping and sexually abusing a teenage boy who he used to give money to. The 70- year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of anal rape and two counts of sexual assault of the youth at various locations in the county between 1999 and 2000. The jury at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Monday heard the man admitted to gardaí that he touched the then 14 year old’s penis on one occasion but claimed that nothing else happened. He told gardaí during interview that he used to give the boy money for food because he felt sorry for him. Opening the trial, prosecuting counsel, Dominic McGinn, SC, said that the accused allegedly took the boy for drives in his car to places where the abuse took place. He said the man and boy worked out a “signal system”. If the accused …
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