Man who sexually abused three of his wife's siblings claims conviction was 'perverse'

A Galway man who sexually abused three of his wife’s siblings when they were children has failed in a bid to overturn his conviction.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had argued at the Court of Appeal that the jury verdict was “perverse” because of “inconsistencies” in the evidence heard.

Dismissing his appeal on Tuesday, Ms Justice Tara Burns said the appellant had failed to meet the high threshold which must be crossed in relation to a claim of a perverse verdict. She said the verdict which was reached by the jury was properly open to them and accordingly, this ground of appeal failed.

The Galway resident was unanimously convicted on November 30, 2022, of five counts of indecent assault against two of his sisters-in-law and one brother-in-law by a jury sitting at Galway Circuit Court.

The court heard the man is married to their sister.

Two of the counts on the indictment related to a single charge of indecent assault of each of his two sisters-in-law. The man was also convicted of indecently assaulting his brother-in-law on three occasions.

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The man, who had pleaded not guilty, was sentenced to a total of 23 months in prison by Judge Brian O’Callaghan on June 15, 2023.

Upholding his conviction, Ms Justice Burns also ruled that the trial judge did not err in exercising his discretion by refusing an application to have the cases heard separately. She said in circumstances where the court had not upheld either ground of appeal, the man’s appeal against conviction was dismissed.

During his appeal hearing, Patrick McCullough BL, representing the man, submitted that the verdicts of the jury in this case were “perverse” and against the weight of the evidence. He said this was because of the various “inconsistencies” identified in the evidence and the “inherent unlikelihood” of the accounts provided by each complainant.

The lawyer suggested the trial judge had also erred by refusing an application to sever the indictment. He said this had resulted in the appellant facing a trial which was fundamentally unfair.

Aoife O’Leary, for the State, said the judge had not erred in refusing to sever the cases. “It’s clear there is jurisdiction to try an accused on an indictment where there is offending of a similar nature and it’s my submission that this case meets that test,” she said.

She said all of the offences were assaults committed against children in a familial context.

Ms O’Leary said the argument that the verdict of the jury was perverse and against the evidence was “wholly without foundation”.