A 40-year-old Co Monaghan farmer was advised by a judge yesterday to sell off a portion of his lands which adjoin a dwelling where he is alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman. The case against the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was adjourned at a sitting of Castleblayney District Court.
Judge Flann Brennan was told by a State witness that the man had occasion to pass the woman's house, moving cattle to and from fields which he owned beside the dwelling.
The judge told the accused man's lawyer, Mr Seamus Mallon, that in view of what had happened he could understand the concerns of the family for children who, he said, should be able to play outside the dwelling without any fears.
Judge Brennan advised the solicitor that his client must avoid being in the vicinity of the house in question and he recommended that the accused man sell fields adjacent to where the woman and her family reside. The case was adjourned until February 2nd.