A sex offender has failed to return here from France to be sentenced by a judge for sex offences before the judge retires.
The 22- year old Clare man sexually assaulted a girl after the two made contact through Snapchat and he has failed to turn up for his sentencing as he is on Covid 19 ‘lockdown’ in France.
On Wednesday, Judge Gerald Keys held a special sitting of Ennis Circuit Court to give the accused one last chance to return to Ireland for sentencing before Judge Keys retires from the bench on Friday.
However, at Judge Key’s last court before he retires, counsel for the accused, Mark Nicholas SC told the judge that his client has been unable to return from France due to Covid 19 restrictions there in spite of a slight loosening of restrictions there this week.
Mr Nicholas stated that even if the man had returned he could not appear at court due to the new Government guidelines requiring people to self-isolate for two weeks after returning from abroad.
Mr Nicholas stated that his client has no history of Gardai seeking a warrant due to any no show in court before now.
Judge Keys had a written judgement prepared after a sentencing hearing was already held this year where the complainant read a hard-hitting victim impact statement.
Now, the complainant will be required to go through the sentencing hearing process once more after Judge Keys stated that a new judge will have to have a re-hearing of the case.
Judge Keys had already rejected a proposal that the sex offender not be present for his sentencing hearing at Ennis Circuit Court and view proceedings via FaceTime, Zoom or some other ‘virtual’ means from his current home in France.
Judge Keys stated that it would be “grossly unfair” to the man’s victim if he wasn’t present for the sentencing.
In February at the court, the teenage complainant in the case told the court that she wanted justice for the sexual abuse perpetrated on her by a ‘vile creature’ when she was aged 12.
The teenager – now 17 – stated that her life has only gone downhill since the accused “abused me at such a young age”.
In the case, the accused – now aged 22 but aged 17 at the time – has pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual assault against the female between October 24th 2014 and April 2015.
The two – who come from the same part of Co Clare and went to the same secondary school at the time – made direct contact initially anonymously through Snapchat and then met in person shortly after.
One of the counts of sexual assault took place in the grounds of a local primary school.
In court in February, Det Sgt Kevin O’Hagan told the court that the girl’s mother made contact with the authorities in April 2015 “after her daughter had said to her something distressing – ‘someone keeps putting something in her mouth and she didn’t like it’.”
Det O’Hagan stated that after the anonymous Snapchat game of ‘Shift or Pass’ the two made direct contact and exchanges photos that were sexual in nature.
The two shortly met in person after and the majority of the counts of sexual assault took place at then 17 year old teenage boy’s family home.
The age difference between the two is four and a half years.
Mr Nicholas previously said that there was no sense of coercion or threat of violence concerning the sexual assaults.
