Queen v IA
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Maguire LJ |
| Judgment Date | 28 May 2021 |
| Neutral Citation | [2021] NICA 48 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
| Date | 28 May 2021 |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2021] NICA 48
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: MAG11425
ICOS No: 19/034307
Delivered: 28/05/2021
IN HER MAJESTY’S COURT OF APPEAL IN NORTHERN IRELAND
___________
THE QUEEN
v
IA
___________
Before: Treacy LJ, Maguire LJ and McFarland J
___________
Mr Kelly QC with Mr Barlow BL (instructed by HD Solicitors) for the applicant
Mr MacCreanor QC with Ms Auret (instructed by the PPS) BL for the Crown
___________
MAGUIRE LJ (delivering the judgment of the Court)
Introduction
[1] Since the subject matter of this application for leave to appeal both conviction
and sentence involves a series of indecent assaults on a female the complainant is
entitled to automatic lifetime anonymity in respect of these matters by virtue of
section 1 of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, as amended. Further, since
there is a familial relationship between the applicant and the complainant he is
referred to in the title of this judgment by the cipher ‘IA’ and nothing should be
published which serves to identify, directly or indirectly, the applicant or the
complainant.
[2] The applicant, who is now in his late 40s, was committed for trial at
Craigavon Crown Court on 17 April 2019. He was arraigned on 4 June 2019 and
pleaded not guilty in respect of an indictment which contained seven counts, all of
indecent assault of a female, contrary to section 52 of the Offences against the Person
Act 1861. The female concerned was the applicant’s younger sister and the events
giving rise to the charges occurred between 29 April 1988 and 30 April 1990 (a two
year period).
2
[3] His trial commenced on 2 March 2020 and ran until 5 March 2020. The
presiding judge was His Honour Judge Lynch QC (“the judge”) who sat with a jury.
On 5 March 2020 the jury found the applicant guilty by a majority verdict (10 to 2) of
four counts on the indictment, counts 1, 2, 4 and 6. The jury was unable to reach
verdicts in respect of the remaining counts (3, 5 and 7) and these were left on the
books in the usual way.
[4] Subsequently, on 10 September 2020, the applicant was sentenced by the
judge to 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended for a period of three years, in respect
of count 1. He also received the same sentence in respect of counts 2, 4 and 6 but
these sentences were all to run concurrently with each other and with count 1. In
addition, the applicant was made subject to a disqualification order disqualifying
him from working with children pursuant to the provisions of the Protection of
Children and Vulnerable Adults (Northern Ireland) Order 2003. Finally, the
applicant was made subject to notification requirements under the Sexual Offences
Act 2003 for a period of 10 years (often referred to, as it will be later, as registration
on the Sex Offenders Register).
[5] Prior to sentence, the applicant made an application for leave to appeal his
conviction and sentence (even though the sentence had not been determined). This
was received by the court office on 2 April 2020. In respect of the appeal against
conviction, the applicant was refused leave to appeal by Horner J on 2 November
2020. As regards the appeal against sentence, the basis for it was later settled on
22 January 2021. The court will deal with it below.
Background
[6] The applicant was the second oldest of a sibship of six children, three boys
and three girls. They were brought up by their parents in the Craigavon area of
Armagh. The complainant in these proceedings is a younger sister of the applicant.
She is now 39 years of age. The offences for which the applicant was convicted, as
has already been noted, occurred between April 1988 and April 1990. At that time
the complainant would have been 7/8 years of age and the applicant would have
been 14/15 years of age.
[7] The complainant gave evidence at the trial and, in simple summary, the
evidence she gave in relation to the four counts in respect of which the applicant was
found guilty was as follows (using the numbering of the counts on the indictment):
Count 1 – She had been in her brother’s bedroom rolling around. The applicant was
tumbling about and tickled her. She was wearing a dress and the applicant’s hand
brushed between her legs. She had underwear on and the applicant’s hand brushed
across her vagina under her dress. She was aged 7 at the time.
Count 2 – Later that same day the complainant was in bed and the applicant called
her out of her room and took her to the bathroom. He said “Can I tickle you again?”
To continue reading
Request your trial