|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
Indecent Assault (Incl. aggravated) |
Sentence: |
5 years with 2 years suspended and lifetime supervision |
Years Imprisoned: |
2 |
Year Crime: |
1979 |
Year Convicted: |
2014 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Ireland |
County or Region of Crime: |
Cork |
City of Crime: |
Carrignavar |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Tadhg O’Dalaigh was wrongly convicted in July 2014 of indecently assaulting a 16-year-old schoolboy at the Colaiste Chroi Naofa boarding school in Carrignavar, Co Cork , Ireland, sometime between March 1 and April 30, 1979. O’Dalaigh's prosecution was based on his accuser's testimony, who accused O’Dalaigh more than 30 years after he alleged woke up one night to find he was being masturbated. O’Dalaigh adamantly denied masturbating that boy, although he had admitted, and pled guilty to five counts of indecent assault of a different boy in unrelated incidents between Sept. 1, 1982 and April 1, 1983. After his conviction by a unanimous jury of 10 men and two women in the Cork Circuit Criminal Court, on December 17, 2014 Judge Donagh McDonagh sentenced O’Dalaigh to five years in prison with two years suspended. Judge McDonagh also ordered that O’Dalaigh be kept under a strict regime (probation) for life. O'Dalaigh was sentenced to concurrently serve 3 years in prison for the 1982-1983 incidents he pled guilty to committing. O’Dalaigh who was a retired priest, appealed. The Catholic Church funded his appeal. O’Dalaigh served his sentence and was released on probation while his appeal was pending. On May 29, 2017 Ireland's Court of Appeal quashed O’Dalaigh's conviction on the basis the judge erred by denying his lawyer's request -- which was opposed by the prosecution -- to warn the jury about the dangers of convicting him in the absence of corroboration. On June 1, 2017 the appeals court denied the Director of Public Prosecution's application for a retrial. The court also granted O’Dalaigh's request for reimbursement of his legal costs, which in doing so rejected the DPP's opposition that was based on the argument that he wasn't entitled to costs because the church had paid his expenses." |
Conviction Caused By: |
|
Innocence Proved By: |
"On May 29, 2017 Ireland's Court of Appeal quashed O’Dalaigh's conviction on the basis the judge erred by denying his lawyer's request -- which was opposed by the prosecution -- to warn the jury about the dangers of convicting him in the absence of corroboration. On June 1, 2017 the appeals court denied the Director of Public Prosecution's application for a retrial. The court also granted O’Dalaigh's request for reimbursement of his legal costs, which in doing so rejected the DPP's opposition that was based on the argument that he wasn't entitled to costs because the church had paid his expenses." |
Defendant Aided By: |
|
Compensation Awarded: |
"Legal costs only (Ireland, June 2017)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
|
Age When Imprisoned: |
71 |
Age When Released: |
73 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Self-confessed paedo priest Tadhg O’Dalaigh awarded legal costs after indecent assault conviction on schoolboy is quashed, By Ruaidhrí Giblin, The Irish Sun, June 1, 2017" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.thesun.ie/news/1077543/self-confessed-paedo-priest-tadhg-odalaigh-awarded-legal-costs-after-indecent-assault-conviction-on-schoolboy-is-quashed/ |
Information Source 2: |
"Priest jailed for sex abuse in boarding school, By Louise Roseingrave, The Irish Times, December 18, 2014" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/circuit-court/priest-jailed-for-sex-abuse-in-boarding-school-1.2042616 |
Information Source 3: |
"Catholic Church funded retired priest’s successful appeal to indecent assault conviction, By Ruaidhrí Giblin (Ireland International News Agency Ltd.), Irish Legal News, June 1, 2017" |
Information Location 3: |
https://www.irishlegal.com/7436/catholic-church-funded-retired-priests-successful-appeal-to-indecent-assault-conviction/# |
Information Source 4: |
|
Information Location 4: |
|
Information Source 5: |
|
Information Location 5: |
|
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org