A man who was found guilty earlier this week of twice assaulting his 17-year-old daughter had one of the two convictions quashed because an indictment was incorrectly drafted.
Judge Patrick McCartan allowed an appeal after hearing that one of the assaults occurred around a time when the Oireachtas replaced one criminal offence with another, and it was unsure under which statute the jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was entitled to convict.
The quashed conviction alleged the 43-year-old Co Westmeath man assaulted the girl occasioning her actual bodily harm, being charged under section 47 of the 1861 Offences Against the Person "or" of assault causing harm under section 3 of the 1997 Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
His counsel, Mr Barry White, said as his client had assaulted his daughter between April 28th, 1997 and February 18th, 1998, it was uncertain whether the new or old act applied.
Judge McCartan said he would strike out the conviction because it was not based on a charge permitted by the Oireachtas. He adjourned sentencing on the remaining assault conviction until December 16th to allow the preparation of a victim impact report and remanded the defendant in custody.