Man (60s) extradited to face 55 alleged sex charges against four victims

Stephen Maguire

A man has been brought before a court in Co Donegal charged with 55 charges of alleged sex assault and rape.

The man, who is in his 60s, appeared before Judge Emile Daly at Letterkenny District Court.

He appeared in court after being handed over to gardaí by members of the PSNI following the execution of a European Arrest Warrant.

The alleged offences are against four different people and are claimed to have occurred in Co Donegal between 1995 and 2002.

The man, who cannot be named at present, has been residing in Northern Ireland.

He was accompanied to court by detectives.

He is charged with a total of 55 charges of rape, Section 4 rape, and sexual assault at various locations in Co Donegal between 1995 and 2002 inclusive.

The accused man did not speak during the brief hearing.

Detective Garda Paul Dolan said the Director of Public Prosecutions had consented to the accused being sent forward for trial to the Central Criminal Court

He also said gardaí had objections to the man being granted bail.

He said that because the man was a resident in Northern Ireland, he feared that he might be a flight risk.

The accused man's solicitor, Patsy Gallagher, said his client had no previous convictions, had a permanent address, and his wife was in ill health.

Having considered all submissions, Judge Daly said the accused has the presumption of innocence and granted bail.

The Judge imposed several conditions, including a cash lodgement of €1,000 as well as directions that the accused sign on at Buncrana Garda Station once a week.

He is also to surrender his passport and not to have any contact with any witnesses in the case.

The case was adjourned to September 14th for a book of evidence.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.