A jury has failed to reach a verdict in the case of a Donegal pensioner charged with sexually assaulting a 5 year old girl.
The three day trial at Letterkenny Circuit Criminal Court finished last night when the jury of seven men and five women returned to the courtroom.
After a number of hours of deliberation, they told Judge Martin Nolan that they could not reach a verdict on which they all agreed.
The jury foreman commented to the Judge that they could be there for a year and would not agree on a verdict.
Judge Nolan discharged the jury and adjourned the case until the next sitting of the circuit court in April when a new jury in expected to be sworn in.
The accused in the case is a man in his 70s who denies two charges of sexual assault against the then 5 year old girl, who is now aged 8.
Among the evidence given in court were allegations that the man and the girl drew pictures of eachother’s private parts in the girl’s scrapbook but the man scribbled them out.
The man’s family sat behind him through the trial as he denied the allegations which the girl’s family claim happened at the man’s home in 2013.
The jury was shown a video made of the girl three days after the alleged assaults as well as a live videolink from another part of the court building during which the girl was questioned.
Expert medical and forensic witnesses also gave evidence in the case.
The accused man was released o bail to appear again in court in April.
Tags: