A businessman has won his appeal against his conviction and three year sentence for the rape of a 17-year-old woman.
Mr Joseph Kemmy (55) of Moorefield Drive, Newbridge, Co Kildare, was convicted in December 2000 of the offence by a jury at the Central Criminal Court. He was jailed for three years, with the final two years suspended.
At the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday, Mr Justice Fennelly, presiding and sitting with Mr Justice O'Donovan and Mr Justice Gilligan, allowed Mr Kemmy's appeal against conviction and sentence. He also directed there would be no retrial. The central ground on which the appeal was allowed related to the rereading of the complainant's evidence when the jury returned to court after considering their verdict for 1½ days.
After defence counsel had objected to a transcript of the complainant's evidence being given to the jury, the trial judge read his own notes of her evidence to them. Shortly afterwards the jury returned and convicted Mr Kemmy.
Mr Justice Fennelly said that in this particular case, where the issue of consent was central, the trial judge had rendered the trial unfair through reading only the complainant's evidence.