Paddy McCourt has been found guilty by a judge of sexually assaulting a woman in a bar in the centre of Derry last year.
Following a two day trial at the Magistrate’s Court in Derry, District Judge Ted Magill convicted the 39-year-old father-of-three, from Wheatfield Court in Muff, Co Donegal, of committing the offence in the early hours of January 30, 2022, in the 57 Bar in Waterloo Street. An earlier hearing was told the accused had reached under the woman’s skirt and touched her underwear.
On the second day of the trial it emerged that the defendant’s DNA was not among the mixed profile male DNA found on the complainant’s dress or underwear.
The court was also told that as part of their investigation into the allegation, the PSNI sought and was granted a warrant under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 enabling investigators to carry out a secret mobile phone examination and surveillance of the defendant’s mobile phone traffic in the immediate aftermath of the complaint being made against him.
Defence barrister Eoghan Devlin said it was the first time he’d ever heard of such a warrant being granted for a Magistrate’s Court case as it was normally used in terrorist related and murder cases.
When it was put to the investigating officer in the case by Mr Devlin that the police had “missed clearly signposted chances and opportunities in the course of your investigation to question another potential suspect”, the officer replied “it would appear so yes”.
Mr Devlin said that that potential suspect has since moved to Australia.
In his direct evidence, former Northern Ireland international footballer Mr McCourt said he’d gone out on the night with friends and had drinks in several bars. He denied touching the complainant in a sexual manner. He said he believed her when she said she had been sexually assaulted “but it was not by me”.
“There is no way I went anywhere near her, near her bum, her leg or anywhere else. I did not witness anyone touching a female, nor did I. I can’t actually remember this being any issue that night”, he told the District Judge.
Defence barrister Eoghan Devlin said both the complainant and the defendant had been badly left down by the police and by the prosecution.
“He will walk away from this case, whatever the verdict, with a stain on his character but he is entitled to a proper investigation which clearly he did not get”, Mr Devlin said.
Delivering his guilty verdict, Mr Magill he’d given careful consideration to both the evidence and statements submitted to him. He said while DNA represented a great scientific advancement, it was not infallible.
Referring to another man in the bar on the night of the incident whom the defence submitted should have been treated as a suspect, Mr Magill said the CCTV footage showed that the man’s actions were not consistent with the defence suggestion.
He said: “This whole incident was captured on CCTV. It shows the defendant moving towards the woman and this was witnessed by another female in the bar. It could not have been anyone else other than the defendant. Guilty.”
Mr Magill said he would sentence McCourt, who has no previous convictions, on July 7 following the preparation of a pre-sentence report. He said he would also decide on that date whether or not to place McCourt on the Sex Offender’s Register.
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