A young man charged with sexually assaulting, when aged 15, the six-year-old daughter of a neighbour has lost a High Court bid to stop his trial. It is alleged the applicant, now aged 19, was in a bedroom of the neighbour’s house along with the six-year-old girl’s younger brother. That was overridden by the public interest in prosecuting a particularly serious offence of sexual assault on a young child, the judge said. The anonymity he would have enjoyed as a child can continue if the trial judge so decides, Mr Justice Twomey said. The trial judge is likely to apply the principles applicable to the sentencing of children and is likely to order a probation report before sentence, he said.

Source: The Irish Times April 04, 2019 15:33 UTC