An 87-year-old man accused of dozens of historic sexual offences in County Donegal has been remanded in custody.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had his bail revoked due to what a Judge called an “ongoing, flagrant breaches” of the Sex Offenders Act, 2001 as well as a failure to adhere to terms of his bail.
The defendant, who now lives in Northern Ireland, is alleged to have jetted off for a sun holiday this year without notifying the authorities.
Gardai said that the man also failed to notify them of a change of address while he had failed to sign on at a named Garda station in Donegal for almost six years.
The accused has been charged with a total of 53 historic sexual offences, including indecent assault and sexual assault, which relate to a series of alleged incidents between 1988 and 1999.
There are six complaints against the man – some of whom were present in courtroom number 1 as the matter was heard before Judge Roderick Maguire, at Letterkenny Circuit Court.
Detective Garda Michelle McLaughlin confirmed to barrister for the State, Ms Fiona Crawford BL, that the man was initially returned from the District Court on the charges in 2017 with conditions including hat he keep the peace and be of good behaviour, that he sign on at a Garda station once a week and that he have no contact with any of the witnesses in the case.
However, Detective Garda McLaughlin said that the man was alleged to have travelled to Spain with family members and was seen by an individual in Palma de Mallorca Airport earlier this year.
Detective Garda McLaughlin added that the man was residing in Northern Ireland and was in breach of the Sex Offenders Act as he had not informed An Garda Siochana that he had moved across the border or that he changed address.
Judge Maguire was told that the man has not met his condition of signing on at a Garda station since September 2019 despite there being no application to vary or discharge that element of his bail.
The accused, who was accompanied by a relative, ignored bail terms further by travelling on a foreign holiday and Detective Garda McLaughlin said there was a breach of the Sex Offenders Act in that he failed to notify Gardai about his change of address, his intention to travel and actually travelling.
Detective Garda McLaughlin confirmed that the application was for a revocation of bail.
An issue of the man’s capacity is a “parallel and separate” matter to this issue, the court was told.
“In a nutshell,” Ms Crawford added, “he has been given opportunities in the past and has failed to have regard”.
Detective Garda McLaughlin said the signing on failure became apparent to her after a reported sighting of the man at Palma de Mallorca Airport earlier this year.
The man previously served a sentence in Northern Ireland and was released from prison in November 2021 – at which point he came to reside at an address in Donegal.
Detective Garda Darren Carter told the court that he called to visit the man on November 11, 2021 and made him aware of his obligations and gave him a handout informing of the specific sections of the Sex Offenders Act he was bound by.
Detective Garda Carter said he later became aware of the man leaving the State, but the defendant did not notify the authorities of this. The Garda said that he communicated with the Public Protection Unit from the PSNI, who have dedicated officers who interact with persons the subject of the Sex Offenders Register. PSNI officers subsequently visited an address and interviewed the man.
While informed that the accused was advised by a named PSNI constable that he now had no obligation to sign on in this jurisdiction, Detective Garda Carter said there was no knowledge of a constable of the name he had been provided with.
The man also failed to attend the Circuit Court in June 2022 and Detective Garda Carter said that the obligation was on the accused, and not An Garda Siochána, to abide by the terms of his bail.
He said that the man has been afforded opportunities before and “complied with neither.
Mr Peter Nolan BL, the accused men’s barrister, suggested to Judge Maguire that the man’s trial be listed for October, that his client stay in Northern Ireland and undertake to comply with any requirements.
“He was afforded opportunities before,” Detective Garda Carter said.
Mr Nolan said that it was “obvious” that the breach of bail was “either a mistake or part and parcel of the man’s condition. He said new arrangements were now in place.
Mr Nolan contested that the delay in the case has been due to the State not having the man assessed to determine his cognitive impairment.
Mr Nolan told the court that the man “just about had a grip on reality”, citing “cognitive impairment and various other reasons”.
While Mr Nolan said that the man has come “every time” to the court, Detective Garda McLaughlin replied that he was not present last week when it was mentioned.
“To incarcerate this man now, when his trial is in October, would serve no purpose,” Mr Nolan said. “It would be a punishment rather than anything else. This man doesn’t know what he is doing half the time. The delay in this case has been a failure of the State to get him examined. We have been anxious to proceed on a number of occasions.”
Judge Maguire said he had heard “very clear evidence” about what the man was told and that a document was left with him outlining his statutory obligations.
Judge Maguire said he was satisfied that there were “substantive and repeated” breaches of the bail conditions and was also satisfied that the provisions of the Sex Offenders Act, 2001 were brought to the attention of the defendant at a time when a person was assisting him with his daily living.
The evidence, Judge Maguire said, was that the man seemed to understand this and there have been consistent breaches.
“The accused has continued to fail to adhere to bail,” Judge Maguire said, adding that there have been breaches of the bail conditions and “ongoing, flagrant breaches” of the Sex Offenders Act, 2001.
The man was remanded in custody to Castlerea Prison and the matter is due before Letterkenny Circuit Court again in October