A Kildare man has failed in his appeal against his three-year sentence for having sex with a 13-year-old girl when he was 19.
The man, now 21, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced by Judge Michael O’Shea at Naas Circuit Criminal Court in June last year. He had pleaded guilty to defilement of a child at an address in Co Kildare in 2009.
Lawyers for the applicant told the court that the judge erred in principle by failing to attach sufficient weight to the mitigating factors in the case.
Presiding judge Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman, sitting with Mr Justice Declan Budd and Mr Justice Daniel O’Keeffe dismissed the appeal.