THREE OF THE five teenage boys charged with the defilement of a 15-year-old girl at her home in Dublin appeared at Criminal Courts of Justice today.
All five of the boys are between 16 and 18 years of age. They have been accused of having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old at an address in Dublin in 2014.
Each of the teenage boys is charged with the defilement of a named female child under the age of 17 contrary to Section 3 (1) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act, 2006.
It is alleged that on that evening the girl had drunk a bottle of vodka and that friends brought her back to her home. It is alleged that a house party then occurred at her house, during which each of the five males had sex with her.
One of the legal counsel for the accused told Judge Melanie Greally that there was considerable media attention surrounding the case and said they were seeking a trial at the earliest possible date. He told the court the case has taken over two years to reach this point.
The barrister added they were anxious for the case to be dealt with as soon as possible as his client turns 18 years old this summer.
14,500 pages from Facebook
In February, the Tallaght District Court was told there is evidence from 14,500 pages of information from Facebook which would be “substantial” to the case.
The court was told there were some dates that were not suitable as the girl who has made the allegations and the accused are sitting their Leaving Certificate this June.
One counsel for the accused said a trial at the earliest possible date would be desirable as both the young men and the young girl want to “get on with their lives”. He said it is envisaged the young people concerned will all be going to college in the autumn.
Judge Greally said the trial would have to go in for a later date. Counsel for one of the boys sought a date in January 2017 but said if was any later they would have to refer the case to the High Court as it is “through no fault of his client” the case has been delayed.
Legal counsel for the DPP mentioned there was an application for the young girl to give evidence by video link. She told the court there may well be an objection to this.
Judge Greally assigned a trial date for the three young men in for 6 December. A pre-trial date of 28 October was given.
She remanded the three accused on continuing bail with the same conditions attached until that date.
Counsel for the three accused also sought a second counsel to be appointed due to the serious nature of the charges. This was granted by Judge Melanie Greally this morning.
Other two accused
Two of the other accused were not in court today. The court was told that one boy had previously elected for a summary trial before Judge Patricia McNamara at the District Court. Another accused has not yet elected how to plea.
That boy’s case was refused leave for a judicial review in the High Court and is believed to be on appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal. He had asked for a judicial review in relation to how his client was originally dealt with by the gardaí.
Those two cases are back before the Tallaght District Court in May.
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